Mélissa Berthet (University of Neuchâtel), Geoffrey Mesbahi, Aude Pajot, Cristiane Cäsar, Christof Neumann, Klaus Zuberbühler
Call sequences have the potential to convey more information than single call utterances. Previous work has suggested that Titi monkeys combine two alarm calls into four different sequences that can provide information about predator type (aerial vs. terrestrial) and location (ground vs. canopy). We reassessed this statement by using field experiments and modeling, and found that Titi monkeys convey reliable information about predator type and location by combining calls into sequences, providing information that is not present in single call utterances. This provides new insights in the evolution of the compositionality.
