Audience effects in chimpanzee copulation calls

Abstract

Audience effects arise when the signaling behavior of animals is affected by the presence of others. Whilst this phenomenon has been documented in numerous animal species, very little research has addressed what effect the listening audience has in the mating context. In this article we discuss our recent findings that the production of chimpanzee copulation calls is effected by the presence of potentially eavesdropping females and males. We relate these results to understanding the function of primate copulation calls in addition to what more they can tell us about the cognitive processes underlying primate call production. ©2009 Landes Biosciences.