Calls during agonistic interactions vary with arousal and raise audience attention in ravens.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Acoustic properties of vocalizations can vary with the internal state of the caller, and may serve as reliable indicators for a caller's emotional state, for example to prevent conflicts. Thus, individuals may associate distinct characteristics in acoustic signals of conspecifics with specific social contexts, and adjust their behaviour accordingly to prevent escalation of conflicts. Common ravens (Corvus corax) crowd-forage with individuals of different age classes, sex, and rank, assemble at feeding sites, and engage in agonistic interactions of varying intensity. Attacked individuals frequently utter defensive calls in order to appease the aggressor. Here, we investigated if acoustic properties of defensive calls change with varying levels of aggression, and if

SUBMITTER: Szipl G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5740903 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature