Caller Identity Research Articles

Acoustic behavior of humpback whale calves on the feeding ground: Comparisons across age and implications for vocal development.

Studying sound production at different developmental stages can provide insight into the processes involved in vocal ontogeny. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a known vocal learning species, but their vocal development is poorly understood. While studies of humpback whale calves in the early stages of their lives on the breeding grounds and migration routes exist, little is known about the behavior of these immature, dependent animals by the time they reach the feeding grounds. In this study, we used data from groups of North Atlantic humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine in which all members were simultaneously carrying acoustic recording tags attached with suction cups. This allowed for assignment of likely caller identity using the relative received levels of calls across tags. We analyzed data from 3 calves and 13 adults. There were high levels of call rate variation among these individuals and the results represent preliminary descriptions of calf behavior. Our analysis suggests that, in contrast to the breeding grounds or on migration, calves are no longer acoustically cryptic by the time they reach their feeding ground. Calves and adults both produce calls in bouts, but there may be some differences in bout parameters like inter-call intervals and bout durations. Calves were able to produce most of the adult vocal repertoire but used different call types in different proportions. Finally, we found evidence of immature call types in calves, akin to protosyllables used in babbling in other mammals, including humans. Overall, the sound production of humpback whale calves on the feeding grounds appears to be already similar to that of adults, but with differences in line with ontogenetic changes observed in other vocal learning species.

Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalisations

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are highly social mammals that communicate using sequences of clicks called codas. While a subset of codas have been shown to encode information about caller identity, almost everything else about the sperm whale communication system, including its structure and information-carrying capacity, remains unknown. We show that codas exhibit contextual and combinatorial structure. First, we report previously undescribed features of codas that are sensitive to the conversational context in which they occur, and systematically controlled and imitated across whales. We call these rubato and ornamentation. Second, we show that codas form a combinatorial coding system in which rubato and ornamentation combine with two context-independent features we call rhythm and tempo to produce a large inventory of distinguishable codas. Sperm whale vocalisations are more expressive and structured than previously believed, and built from a repertoire comprising nearly an order of magnitude more distinguishable codas. These results show context-sensitive and combinatorial vocalisation can appear in organisms with divergent evolutionary lineage and vocal apparatus.

Caller identification and characterization of individual humpback whale acoustic behaviour.

Acoustic recording tags provide fine-scale data linking acoustic signalling with individual behaviour; however, when an animal is in a group, it is challenging to tease apart calls of conspecifics and identify which individuals produce each call. This, in turn, prohibits a robust assessment of individual acoustic behaviour including call rates and silent periods, call bout production within and between individuals, and caller location. To overcome this challenge, we simultaneously instrumented small groups of humpback whales on a western North Atlantic feeding ground with sound and movement recording tags. This approach enabled a comparison of the relative amplitude of each call across individuals to infer caller identity for 97% of calls. We recorded variable call rates across individuals (mean = 23 calls/h) and groups (mean = 55 calls/h). Calls were produced throughout dives, and most calls were produced in bouts with short inter-call intervals of 2.2 s. Most calls received a likely response from a conspecific within 100 s. This caller identification (ID) method facilitates studying both individual- and group-level acoustic behaviour, yielding novel results about the nature of sequence production and vocal exchanges in humpback whale social calls. Future studies can expand on these caller ID methods for understanding intra-group communication across taxa.

Evidence for individual vocal recognition in a pair-bonding poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator.

Individually distinctive vocalizations are widespread in nature, although the ability of receivers to discriminate these signals has only been explored through limited taxonomic and social lenses. Here, we asked whether anuran advertisement calls, typically studied for their role in territory defense and mate attraction, facilitate recognition and preferential association with partners in a pair-bonding poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator). Combining no- and two-stimulus choice playback experiments, we evaluated behavioral responses of females to male acoustic stimuli. Virgin females oriented to and approached speakers broadcasting male calls independent of caller identity, implying that females are generally attracted to male acoustic stimuli outside the context of a pair bond. When pair-bonded females were presented with calls of a mate and a stranger, they showed significant preference for calls of their mate. Moreover, behavioral responses varied with breeding status: females with eggs were faster to approach stimuli than females that were pair bonded but did not currently have eggs. Our study suggests a potential role for individual vocal recognition in the formation and maintenance of pair bonds in a poison frog and raises new questions about how acoustic signals are perceived in the context of monogamy and biparental care.

Evidence for vocal signatures and voice-prints in a wild parrot.

In humans, identity is partly encoded in a voice-print that is carried across multiple vocalizations. Other species also signal vocal identity in calls, such as shown in the contact call of parrots. However, it remains unclear to what extent other call types in parrots are individually distinct, and whether there is an analogous voice-print across calls. Here we test if an individual signature is present in other call types, how stable this signature is, and if parrots exhibit voice-prints across call types. We recorded 5599 vocalizations from 229 individually marked monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) over a 2-year period in Barcelona, Spain. We examined five distinct call types, finding evidence for an individual signature in three. We further show that in the contact call, while birds are individually distinct, the calls are more variable than previously assumed, changing over short time scales (seconds to minutes). Finally, we provide evidence for voice-prints across multiple call types, with a discriminant function being able to predict caller identity across call types. This suggests that monk parakeets may be able to use vocal cues to recognize conspecifics, even across vocalization types and without necessarily needing active vocal signatures of identity.

Meows of captive feral domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) in the mating season: acoustic correlates of caller identity and sex

Abstract This study investigates the frequency, temporal and power parameters in 11 (5 males, 6 females) captive feral domestic cats Felis silvestris catus, vocalising in their individual outdoor enclosures during the mating season. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) classified the meows to correct callers with 79.2% accuracy, which exceeded the chance level of 22.9 ± 2.8%, calculated with permutation test. Male meows were lower-frequency, with the maximum fundamental frequency of 0.37 ± 0.05 kHz vs 0.61 ± 0.16 kHz in females. Sex differences in the maximum, beginning and end fundamental frequencies varied from 32 to 39%, depending on acoustic parameter. The DFA classified the meows to correct sex with accuracy of 88.0%, which exceeded the chance level of 58.2 ± 3.1%. We discuss that the meows encode information about individual identity and sex and that acoustic differences in frequency parameters of the meows exceed sexual dimorphism of body size in domestic cat.

Evidence of signature whistles produced by Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Mozambique

ABSTRACT Individually distinctive signature whistles are used by common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) during social interactions and to facilitate group cohesion. There is evidence from a few populations that Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins (T. aduncus) also use signature whistles. We investigated this from a coastal resident population of T. aduncus in Mozambique. Video-audio data were collected during recreational swim-with activities over 12 years, where potential signature whistles were identified from 28 individuals. Of the 405 whistles documented, 75% were produced in SIGID bouts. Visual assessment of individual signature whistle contours demonstrated temporal stability for up to 8 years. Overall, most signature whistle types had upsweep frequency modulation and were emitted as multiloop whistles. Comparing all whistle contours to each other indicated low discrimination between individuals, with contours frequently categorised together. However, sex differences in the frequency characteristics of whistles were identified, with females whistling at lower frequencies than males. Our results indicate either a shared whistle repertoire or identity encoding with subtle contour features, requiring acute auditory perception and discrimination to decipher caller identity. More widespread geographic investigation into signature whistle use may demonstrate variation in acoustic communication systems for bottlenose dolphins, which are thus far not well understood.

Representation of Expression and Identity by Ventral Prefrontal Neurons

Evidence has suggested that the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) processes social stimuli, including faces and vocalizations, which are essential for communication. Features embedded within audiovisual stimuli, including emotional expression and caller identity, provide abundant information about an individual’s intention, emotional state, motivation, and social status, which are important to encode in a social exchange. However, it is unknown to what extent the VLPFC encodes such features. To investigate the role of VLPFC during social communication, we recorded single-unit activity while rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) performed a nonmatch-to-sample task using species-specific face-vocalization stimuli that differed in emotional expression or caller identity. 75% of recorded cells were task-related and of these >70% were responsive during the nonmatch period. A larger proportion of nonmatch cells encoded the stimulus rather than the context of the trial type. A subset of responsive neurons were most commonly modulated by the identity of the nonmatch stimulus and less by the emotional expression, or both features within the face-vocalization stimuli presented during the nonmatch period. Neurons encoding identity were found in VLPFC across a broader region than expression related cells which were confined to only the anterolateral portion of the recording chamber in VLPFC. These findings suggest that, within a working memory paradigm, VLPFC processes features of face and vocal stimuli, such as emotional expression and identity, in addition to task and contextual information. Thus, stimulus and contextual information may be integrated by VLPFC during social communication.

Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) alarm calls: individual acoustic variation in a lagomorph with audible through ultrasonic vocalizations

Abstract Colonial lagomorphs warn conspecifics of potential danger with alarm calls encoding information about attributes of presumptive predators as well as the caller. In this study, we show that alarm calls of Daurian pikas, Ochotona dauurica (Pallas, 1776), encode information about caller identity. We recorded the alarm calls produced toward a surrogate predator (researcher), slowly moving (0.5–1 km/h) between densely distributed colonies. The alarm calls of most (32 of the 35) callers started in the ultrasonic range at 22.41 kHz on average and rapidly decreased to 3.88 kHz on average at call end. Call duration was very short (0.057 s on average). The accuracy of classifying alarm calls to correct callers with discriminant function analysis (DFA) was 93.71% for the manually measured set of 12 acoustic variables and 95.43% for the semiautomatically measured set of 12 acoustic variables; in both cases exceeding the level of chance (17.28% or 17.33%, respectively). Nonlinear vocal phenomena (biphonations) only were detected in one individual. We discuss the relationship between vocal traits, individuality, vocal production mechanisms, and functions, of pika alarm calls. We propose a potential divergence of alarm calls in Asian pikas to high-frequency whistles (> 20 kHz in Daurian pikas) and in American pikas to low-frequency emissions (0.4–1.3 kHz in Ochotona princeps) during the evolutionary radiation of pikas at the center of the origin of lagomorphs in East Asia and their subsequent geographic dispersal.

Vocal and movement responses of mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) to natural loud calls from neighbors.

Loud calls (i.e., long-range acoustic signals) regulate resource competition among neighboring groups of conspecifics in several nonhuman primate species. Ultimate explanations for primate loud calls include mate, offspring, and food defense. Additionally, loud calls may provide valuable information pertaining to the identity and health status of callers, their competitive abilities, and their spatial location. The loud calls of howler monkeys (Alouatta) have been thoroughly studied and seem to play an important function in the defense of valuable resources in a variety of socioecological contexts. Here, we examined whether the behavioral responses of mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) to natural loud calls from neighbors are linked to three factors: food availability, familiarity, and distance between groups. We studied three groups of mantled howler monkeys at La Flor de Catemaco (Los Tuxtlas, Mexico) for 15 months (1817 observation hours), during which we recorded 236 neighbor loud calls. Food availability per sedid not influence the behavior of groups receiving loud calls, although males produced longer vocal responses toward unfamiliar neighbors when food availability decreased. Groups vocalized quicker and both vocalized and moved for longer after loud calls from unfamiliar neighbors. Additionally, groups vocalized and moved for longer at shorter distances from unfamiliar neighbors compared with familiar neighbors. Finally, groups usually moved away from calling neighbors that were closer. These results indicate that the behavioral responses of mantled howler monkeys to loud calls from neighbor groups are associated with the integration of information pertaining to caller identity as well as to their ecological and spatial context.

Hissing of geese: caller identity encoded in a non-vocal acoustic signal.

Non-vocal, or unvoiced, signals surprisingly have received very little attention until recently especially when compared to other acoustic signals. Some sounds made by terrestrial vertebrates are produced not only by the larynx but also by the syrinx. Furthermore, some birds are known to produce several types of non-syrinx sounds. Besides mechanical sounds produced by feathers, bills and/or wings, sounds can be also produced by constriction, anywhere along the pathway from the lungs to the lips or nostrils (in mammals), or to the bill (in birds), resulting in turbulent, aerodynamic sounds. These noises often emulate whispering, snorting or hissing. Even though hissing sounds have been studied in mammals and reptiles, only a few studies have analyzed hissing sounds in birds. Presently, only the hissing of small, nesting passerines as a defense against their respective predators have been studied. We studied hissing in domestic goose. This bird represents a ground nesting non-passerine bird which frequently produces hissing out of the nest in comparison to passerines producing hissing during nesting in holes e.g., parids. Compared to vocally produced alarm calls, almost nothing is known about how non-vocal hissing sounds potentially encode information about a caller’s identity. Therefore, we aimed to test whether non-vocal air expirations can encode an individual’s identity similar to those sounds generated by the syrinx or the larynx. We analyzed 217 hissing sounds from 22 individual geese. We calculated the Potential for Individual Coding (PIC) comparing the coefficient of variation both within and among individuals. In addition, we conducted a series of 15 a stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA) models. All 16 acoustic variables showed a higher coefficient of variation among individuals. Twelve DFA models revealed 51.2–54.4% classification result (cross-validated output) and all 15 models showed 60.8–68.2% classification output based on conventional DFA in comparison to a 4.5% success rate when classification by chance. This indicates the stability of the DFA results even when using different combinations of variables. Our findings showed that an individual’s identity could be encoded with respect to the energy distribution at the beginning of a signal and the lowest frequencies. Body weight did not influence an individual’s sound expression. Recognition of hissing mates in dangerous situations could increase the probability of their surviving via a more efficient anti-predator response.

The reliability of individual vocal signature varies across the bonobo's graded repertoire

Vocalizations often contain both ‘dynamic’ information, related to short-term fluctuations in the individual's emotional states, and ‘static’ information, related to long-term attributes such as age, sex, weight and body size which define an ‘individual vocal signature’. While both types of information may be of functional value to receivers, dynamic information requires acoustic versatility, while static information depends on acoustic stability. Here we investigated whether an individual vocal signature is present across the vocal repertoire of the bonobo, Pan paniscus. First, the analysis of the acoustic structure of its five most common tonal vocalizations emphasized the highly graded structure of its repertoire. We then evaluated the reliability of identity information across these call types. The results show that, while all call types supported information related to identity, the reliability of these vocal signatures was not consistent along the graded vocal continuum. Caller identity was strongly encoded at one end of the acoustic gradation (high-hoot) and decreased from bark, soft bark, peep-yelp to peep calls. Strikingly, the reliability of the individual signature thus decreased from calls used in high-arousal contexts to those used in low-arousal contexts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that an acoustic gradation that codes for ‘dynamic’ information can be accompanied by variation in the ‘static’ information that supports vocal individuality.

Call order within vocal sequences of meerkats contains temporary contextual and individual information

BackgroundThe ability to recombine smaller units to produce infinite structures of higher-order phrases is unique to human language, yet evidence of animals to combine multiple acoustic units into meaningful combinations increases constantly. Despite increasing evidence for meaningful call combinations across contexts, little attention has been paid to the potential role of temporal variation of call type composition in longer vocal sequences in conveying information about subtle changes in the environment or individual differences. Here, we investigated the composition and information content of sentinel call sequences in meerkats (Suricata suricatta). While being on sentinel guard, a coordinated vigilance behaviour, meerkats produce long sequences composed of six distinct sentinel call types and alarm calls. We analysed recordings of sentinels to test if the order of the call types is graded and whether they contain additional group-, individual-, age- or sex-specific vocal signatures.ResultsOur results confirmed that the six distinct types of sentinel calls in addition to alarm calls were produced in a highly graded way, likely referring to changes in the perceived predation risk. Transitions between call types one step up or down the a priory assumed gradation were over-represented, while transitions over two or three steps were significantly under-represented. Analysing sequence similarity within and between groups and individuals demonstrated that sequences composed of the most commonly emitted sentinel call types showed high within-individual consistency whereby adults and females had higher consistency scores than subadults and males respectively.ConclusionsWe present a novel type of combinatoriality where the order of the call types contains temporary contextual information, and also relates to the identity of the caller. By combining different call types in a graded way over long periods, meerkats constantly convey meaningful information about subtle changes in the external environment, while at the same time the temporal pattern of the distinct call types contains stable information about caller identity. Our study demonstrates how complex animal call sequences can be described by simple rules, in this case gradation across acoustically distinct, but functionally related call types, combined with individual-specific call patterns.

Variations in received levels on a sound and movement tag on a singing humpback whale: Implications for caller identification.

Bio-logging devices are advancing the understanding of marine animal behavior, but linking sound production and behavior of individual baleen whales is still unreliable. Tag placement potentially within the near field of the sound source creates uncertainty about how tagged animal sounds will register on recorders. This study used data from a tagged singing humpback whale to evaluate this question of how sound levels present on a tag when calls are produced by a tagged animal. Root-mean-square (rms) received levels (RLs) of song units ranged from 112 to 164 dB re 1 μPa rms, with some, but not all, of the lower frequency units registering on the tag's 800 Hz accelerometer sensor. Fifty-nine percent of recorded units measured lower acoustic RLs than previously reported source levels for humpback song, but signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were 30-45 dB during periods of the dive with low noise. This research highlights that tag RL does not alone predict caller identity, argues for higher SNR thresholds if using SNR to inform decisions about the source of a call, and provides a baseline for future research identifying diagnostic properties of tagged animal calls in cetacean bioacoustic tag datasets.

Cooperative bird discriminates between individuals based purely on their aerial alarm calls

AbstractFrom an evolutionary perspective, the ability to recognize individuals provides great selective advantages, such as avoiding inbreeding depression during breeding. Whilst the capacity to recognize individuals for these types of benefits is well established in social contexts, why this recognition might arise in a potentially deadly alarm-calling context following predator encounters is less obvious. For example, in most avian systems, alarm signals directed toward aerial predators represent higher predation risk and vulnerability than when individuals vocalize toward a terrestrial-based predator. Although selection should favor simple, more effective alarm calls to these dangerous aerial predators, the potential of these signals to nonetheless encode additional information such as caller identity has not received a great deal of attention. We tested for individual discrimination capacity in the aerial alarm vocalizations of the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly social honeyeater that has been previously shown to be able to discriminate between the terrestrial alarm signals of individuals. Utilizing habituation–discrimination paradigm testing, we found conclusive evidence of individual discrimination in the aerial alarm calls of noisy miners, which was surprisingly of similar efficiency to their ability to discriminate between less urgent terrestrial alarm signals. Although the mechanism(s) driving this behavior is currently unclear, it most likely occurs as a result of selection favoring individualism among other social calls in the repertoire of this cooperative species. This raises the intriguing possibility that individualistic signatures in vocalizations of social animals might be more widespread than currently appreciated, opening new areas of bioacoustics research.

The Effect of Pine Forest Structure on Bird-Mobbing Behavior: From Individual Response to Community Composition

Pine-forest bird communities are affected by the forest structure and the density and composition of its understory vegetation. In this study, we focused on the combined effects of vegetation structure and caller identity on the mobbing behavior of birds in breeding and non-breeding seasons. We examined the effect of the understory structure and the density of three types of conifer forest habitats on bird behavior by broadcasting three different types of mobbing calls: Those of two all-year resident species in the state Israel (Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephala Gmelin and great tit Parus major L.) and one European species (coal tit Periparus ater L.), which is absent from these habitats. The mobbing call attracted 689 birds of 17 species, which represented 31% to 95% of the forest bird species that we detected in point counts at the same study plots. Bird reactions to mobbing calls were affected by the status and season, depending on forest type. Our results show that responses were stronger in forests with developed understory in comparison to forests with no understory, especially in winter. The highest number of responders and highest species richness of responders were observed in winter. P. major calls generated more interspecific than intraspecific responses, whereas S. melanocephala calls generated equal levels of inter- and intraspecific reactions. Both species generated different response patterns across the three forest habitat types. The response level of responders is higher when the mobbing calls are issued by local species rather than the P. ater. In winter, the response of non-resident species was higher than of resident species. Based on these results, we encourage the managers to maintain well-established understory vegetation, with special attention to the shrubs layer, to promote species diversity and rich behavioral responses of birds in the conifer forests in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Do human screams permit individual recognition?

The recognition of individuals through vocalizations is a highly adaptive ability in the social behavior of many species, including humans. However, the extent to which nonlinguistic vocalizations such as screams permit individual recognition in humans remains unclear. Using a same-different vocalizer discrimination task, we investigated participants’ ability to correctly identify whether pairs of screams were produced by the same person or two different people, a critical prerequisite to individual recognition. Despite prior theory-based contentions that screams are not acoustically well-suited to conveying identity cues, listeners discriminated individuals at above-chance levels by their screams, including both acoustically modified and unmodified exemplars. We found that vocalizer gender explained some variation in participants’ discrimination abilities and response times, but participant attributes (gender, experience, empathy) did not. Our findings are consistent with abundant evidence from nonhuman primates, suggesting that both human and nonhuman screams convey cues to caller identity, thus supporting the thesis of evolutionary continuity in at least some aspects of scream function across primate species.

Correlates of social role and conflict severity in wild vervet monkey agonistic screams.

Screams are acoustically distinct, high-pitched and high-amplitude calls, produced by many social species. Despite a wide range of production contexts, screams are characterised by an acoustic structure that appears to serve in altering the behaviour of targeted receivers during agonistic encounters. In chimpanzees, this can be achieved by callers producing acoustic variants that correlate with their identity, social role, relationship with the targeted recipient, the composition of the audience and the nature of the event. Although vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) have been studied for decades, not much is known about their agonistic screams. Here, we examined agonistic screams produced by wild vervet monkeys to investigate the degree to which caller identity, social role and conflict severity affected call structure. We found that screams were both individually distinctive and dependent of the agonistic events. In particular, victim screams were longer and higher-pitched than aggressor screams, while screams produced in severe conflicts (chases, physical contact) had higher entropy than those in mild conflicts. We discuss these findings in terms of their evolutionary significance and suggest that acoustic variation might serve to reduce the aggression level of opponents, while simultaneously attracting potential helpers.

Acoustic variation of spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) contact calls is related to caller isolation and affects listeners' responses.

Group living animals produce vocalizations denominated “contact calls” to maintain contact with out-of-sight group members. These calls have been shown to vary with caller identity and distance to potential listeners. However, it is not clear whether the acoustic variation of contact calls is related to caller social isolation (e.g., inside or outside a subgroup) and listeners’ responses that can be helpful to maintain contact. Here, we addressed these questions in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi), a Neotropical primate that exchanges contact calls denominated “whinnies”, which show graded variation related to caller immediate behavior and distance between callers. Using 566 whinnies produced by 35 free-ranging adult spider monkeys recorded at ≤ 20 m from microphones, we first analyzed whether the acoustic variation of spontaneous whinnies (i.e., whinnies that are not responses to previous whinnies) is related to caller social isolation or whether acoustic variation is related to the likelihood of eliciting a response whinny from another individual. Secondly, we assessed whether listeners’ responses (i.e., time to respond vocally, acoustic characteristics of response whinnies, orienting behaviors) were related to the acoustic variation of previous whinnies. Our study revealed that callers that were outside a subgroup produced whinnies with a lower fundamental frequency (F0), which travels longer distances, and increases the likelihood of producing a response whinny. Moreover, listeners (i.e., responders) responded faster to lower F0 whinnies. However, the acoustic variation (i.e., F0 variation) in response whinnies was better explained by the separation distance between callers, than by the acoustic variation of the previous whinny. Overall, our results suggest that whinny variation facilitates vocal contact to callers that are outside a subgroup, and that context and whinny variation affect listeners’ responses.

What Patients Know About Services to Help Manage Chronic Diseases and Medications: Findings from Focus Groups on Medication Therapy Management.

Managing and treating patients with multiple chronic conditions presents challenges on many levels. Pharmacist-delivered medication therapy management (MTM) services, mandated as part of the Medicare Part D drug benefit, are designed to help patients manage their chronic conditions and medications. To identify factors that influence patient understanding and use of MTM services and potential strategies to educate individuals about MTM. Participants who had at least 2 chronic conditions, were taking 2 or more prescription medications, and were aged 18 years or older were recruited from community-based settings to participate in focus groups. The focus groups aimed to identify participants' perceptions and use of MTM services, barriers and facilitators to utilization, and medication problems. Participants were asked to complete a 14-item health care questionnaire and view a brief, 3-minute video introducing the topic of MTM before the group discussion. The health care questionnaire data were analyzed in Microsoft Excel. The focus group responses were transcribed and entered into the computer program ATLAS.ti for thematic analysis. Two independent reviewers qualitatively coded the discussion question responses; a third reviewer investigated discrepancies and facilitated consensus among the reviewers. Participants (N = 27) were mostly female (70.4%), college educated (62.9%), and had Medicare insurance (81.5%). Seven themes were identified: (1) new proposed names for MTM, (2) mechanisms to gain interest in and to promote the value of MTM, (3) familiarity with MTM, (4) pharmacists' training and expertise in MTM, (5) experience with MTM, (6) reasons for nonparticipation in MTM, and (7) preferred method to learn about MTM. Participants did not understand the term "medication therapy management" and felt the interpretation of "therapy"' differed between health care professionals and the public. Some participants used MTM services to learn about appropriate use of their medications, while others were unsure about their eligibility, associated costs, and how to access the services. Participants had limited pharmaceutical knowledge but felt pharmacist-provided MTM services were helpful. Participants were unfamiliar with pharmacists' skills and training. Participants' experiences with MTM services ranged from disregarding the invitation to participate to having pharmacists identify drug-drug interactions. Reasons for nonparticipation in MTM services included being unaware of their eligibility, failing to read excessive information from insurance companies, and being uncertain of the identity of the telephone caller. Preferred methods for learning more about MTM services included the Internet, e-mail, information availability at physician's office, and television advertisements. These results suggest that the lay public remains largely unaware of MTM services and that the term "MTM" is not well understood. Clearly, tailored public health campaigns and patient engagement strategies are needed to promote MTM in chronic disease management, pharmacists as respected providers, and the importance of the prescriber-MTM pharmacist collaborative relationship in managing medications for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Grant funding from SinfoniaRx to Taylor, Axon, Campbell, Fair, and Warholak was used to help conduct this project. Boesen is employed by SinfoniaRx. The other authors have nothing to disclose. This original research was presented as a poster at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 27th Annual Meeting and Expo; April 7-10, 2015; San Diego, CA.