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Sex Differences in the Use of Whinny Vocalizations in Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi)

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Abstract

In species in which males and females exhibit different association patterns, the use of vocalizations that regulate interindividual distance may differ between the sexes. Spider monkey social groups are characterized by high fission–fusion dynamics and sex differences in association patterns; female–female associations have been described as more passive than those between philopatric males. Individuals of both sexes produce whinny vocalizations, which may allow callers and receivers to mediate interindividual spacing based on existing social relationships. As such, we hypothesized individuals of each sex would use whinny vocalizations at different rates and in different contexts. To investigate sex differences in the rate of whinnying across behavioral contexts, we collected focal animal samples on Yucatan spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis) over 8 mo at Runaway Creek Nature Reserve, Belize. In addition, we recorded all changes in subgroup composition to investigate whether a female’s likelihood of calling was influenced by the number of conspecifics joining, or leaving their subgroup. We found that females called at higher rates than males in most behavioral contexts, especially foraging. The probability that females would call increased during subgroup fissions and fusions, and correlated positively with the number of individuals joining or leaving their subgroup. Male calling rates did not differ across contexts, and males generally called less than females. Our results suggest that whinnying by females may allow callers to mediate interindividual spacing in contexts where proximity risks increasing feeding competition. In species in which the sexes associate in qualitatively different ways, vocalizations may play a role in maintaining these differences.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported financially by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Special thanks go to Gil and Lillian Boese from the Zoological Society of Milwaukee and the Foundation for Wildlife Conservation for permission to work at RCNR. Thanks to Birds without Borders for their assistance and support throughout this project. Thanks go out to the staff at the Tropical Education Center, Belize, for accommodation. This research would not have been possible without the many hours of field support and assistance in data collection by Gilroy Welch; thank you so much for your hard work and patience in the field. We would like to acknowledge Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez and an anonymous reviewer, as well as the editor-in-chief, Joanna Setchell, for their helpful feedback and suggestions on early drafts of this article. We also thank Tak Fung for his technical expertise and support with our statistical analysis. To Peter Henzi, many thanks for your helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Colin Dubreuil & Mary S. M. Pavelka

  2. Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB, T9S 3A3, Canada

    Hugh Notman

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  1. Colin Dubreuil
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Correspondence to Colin Dubreuil.

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Dubreuil, C., Notman, H. & Pavelka, M.S.M. Sex Differences in the Use of Whinny Vocalizations in Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Int J Primatol 36, 412–428 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-015-9832-6

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