Vocal signals facilitate cooperative hunting in wild chimpanzees
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Cooperation and communication likely coevolved in humans. However, the evolutionary roots of this interdependence remain unclear. We address this issue by investigating the role of vocal signals in facilitating a group cooperative behavior in an ape species: hunting in wild chimpanzees. First, we show that bark vocalizations produced before hunt initiation are reliable signals of behavioral motivation, with barkers being most likely to participate in the hunt. Next, we find that barks are associated with greater hunter recruitment and more effective hunting, with shorter latencies to hunting initiation and prey capture. Our results indicate that the coevolutionary relationship between vocal communication and group-level cooperation is not unique to humans in the ape lineage and is likely to have been present in our last common ancestor with chimpanzees.
Source: Science Advances
Language: English
Topic: Primate Behavior and Ecology
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,028
Awards: G2508755251, Stress, Energetics and the Costs of Reproduction in Wild Chimpanzees, Combinatoriality in animal vocal communication, Molecular Epidemiology and Natural History of SIVcpz, NCS-FO: Collaborative Research: The evolutionary origins of leadership in chimpanzees: from individual minds to collective action, Biodemography of Aging in Wild Chimpanzees, Cumulative Life Course Effects on Aging and Health in a Long-Lived Primate Model
OpenAlex ID: W4288691932