Abstract
Many group-living animals coordinate movements with acoustic signals, but so far most studies have focused on how group movements are initiated. In this study, we investigated movement patterns of wild sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys), a mostly terrestrial, forest-dwelling primate. We provide quantitative results showing that vocalization rates of mangabey subgroups, but not of focal individuals, correlated with focal individuals’ current movement patterns. More interestingly, vocal behaviour predicted whether individuals changed future speed, and possibly future travel direction. The role of vocalizations as a potential mechanism for the regulation of group movement was further highlighted by interaction effects that include subgroup size and the quality of poly-specific associations. Collectively, our results suggest that primate vocal behaviour can function beyond travel initiation in coordination and regulation of group movements.
Highlights
Living in groups can convey considerable benefits for individuals, such as increased predator detection and foraging success
Current travel speed We found no strong relationships between vocalizations of focal animals and their current travel speed
Our results indicate that the travel speed and changes in direction of focal individuals co-varied with complex interactions of conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations
Summary
Living in groups can convey considerable benefits for individuals, such as increased predator detection and foraging success. To benefit from the presence of others, individuals need to regulate group cohesion, especially during travel, and signals such as vocalizations are likely to play a key role in this context (Boinski & Garber, 2000; Conradt & Roper, 2005; da Cunha & Byrne, 2009; Petit & Bon, 2010; Fischer & Zinner, 2011a; Fischer & Zinner, 2011b). Most previous research in group coordination has focused on how movements are initiated (e.g., Stewart & Harcourt, 1994; Radford, 2004; Bousquet, Sumpter & Manser, 2011), which has revealed a variety of mechanisms (Conradt & Roper, 2005; Petit & Bon, 2010). Initiation and termination of group movements may only represent the extreme ends of a more complex phenomenon, which
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