Auditory-Visual Intermodal Recognition of Conspecifics by a Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Abstract

Recognition of conspecifics across auditory and visual modalities was studied in a female chimpanzee, using the auditory-visual matching-to-sample task (AVMTS). Following the presentation of a recorded sound, the subject had to select, from 2 alternatives, the photograph that was associated with the sample sound. In the present study, the chimpanzee who had acquired AVMTS in a previous experiment was shown novel stimuli of chimpanzees and birds, neither of which the subject had experienced before as stimuli. In the first session of the test, the subject generalized AVMTS performance to matching recorded chimpanzee vocalizations with the photographs, but not to matching bird songs with the relevant photographs. This might reflect auditory-visual intermodal recognition of conspecifics in the everyday life of the chimpanzee.