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Introduction to Primate Hearing and Communication

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Primate Hearing and Communication

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 63))

Abstract

The diverse and well-studied order Primates serves as an excellent model for understanding the evolution of acoustic communication among mammals. Over the past 60 million years, primates have evolved into more than 300 extant species that range from nocturnal to diurnal, arboreal to terrestrial, and solitary to groups of thousands, and they range in body mass from the 30-g pygmy mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus) to the 175-kg eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri). Nonhuman primates vary in their auditory sensitivity and perceptual capabilities and emit a wide range of often complex vocalizations. Some aspects of primate audition and vocalizations have been related to each other and/or phylogeny, anatomy, and ecology, but many aspects have yet to be fully understood. The integration of anatomical and behavioral data on acoustic communication, and the correlates thereof, have significant potential for reconstructing behavior in the fossil record, including that of humans. This volume presents a comprehensive review of nonhuman primate audition and vocal communication to bridge these closely related topics that are often addressed separately. The first section of the book is a discussion of primate sound production, reception, and perception, as well as habitat acoustics in the environmental settings occupied by primates in the wild. The second section focuses on vocal communication in extant primates, including consideration of spectral analyses of primate calls and the evolutionary relationships among hearing, vocal communication, and human language. The goal for this comprehensive approach is to provide new insights into these related topics.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Arthur Popper and Richard Fay for their invitation to edit this volume, as well as for their patience and invaluable editorial efforts. We also wish to thank the numerous colleagues with whom discussions of the topics contained in this volume were instrumental to its inspiration and completion.

Compliance with Ethics Requirements

Marissa A. Ramsier declares that she has no conflicts of interest.

Rolf M. Quam declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA, 95521, USA

    Marissa A. Ramsier

  2. Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, 13902-6000, USA

    Rolf M. Quam

Authors
  1. Marissa A. Ramsier
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  2. Rolf M. Quam
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marissa A. Ramsier .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, USA

    Rolf M. Quam

  2. Department of Anthropology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA

    Marissa A. Ramsier

  3. Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Richard R. Fay

  4. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

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Ramsier, M.A., Quam, R.M. (2017). Introduction to Primate Hearing and Communication. In: Quam, R., Ramsier, M., Fay, R., Popper, A. (eds) Primate Hearing and Communication. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 63. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59478-1_1

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