What is it about?
When encountering predators, crested macaques usually produce alarm calls. These calls typically lead other individuals to approach and engage in mobbing behaviour. In playback experiments, crested macaques responded more strongly to alarm calls of their friends. This suggests that in addition to long-term fitness benefits, social bonds they might also increase the coordination and efficiency of cooperative defence against predator.
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Why is it important?
This study documents the potential benefits of social bonds for individuals in the deadly context of predation. In addition the results show that in this species, alarm call are individually distinct. Receiver can differentiate callers and their response to recruitment alarm calls varies with the strength of the social bond between the sender and the receiver.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Social bonds affect anti-predator behaviour in a tolerant species of macaque, Macaca nigra, Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, August 2012, Royal Society Publishing,
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1470.
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Resources
Mobbing behaviour in crested macaques
A video recording of a female crested macaque discovering a python and producing alarm calls. The rest of the group subsequently gather and start mobbing. The python finally flees up into a tree.
Playback trial - friend condition
A video recording of a playback trial in the 'affiliate' condition. The female looks towards the speaker as soon as the alarm call sequence starts, then she approaches the speaker.
Playback trial - non-friend condition
A video recording of a playback trial in the 'non-affiliate' condition. The female looks towards the speaker as soon as the alarm call sequence starts, but she does not approach the speaker.
Friendship affects gaze following in a tolerant species of macaque, Macaca nigra
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