Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Vocal Repertoire of Cebus capucinus: Acoustic Structure, Context, and Usage

  • Published:
International Journal of Primatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Researchers studying nonhuman primate vocal repertoires suggest that convergent environmental, social, and motivational factors account for intra- and interspecific vocal variation. We provide a detailed overview of the vocal repertoire of white-faced capuchins, including acoustic analyses and contextual information of vocal production and vocal usage by different age-sex classes in social interactions. The repertoire is a mixture of graded and discrete vocalizations. In addition, there is general support for structural variation in vocalizations with changes in arousal level. We also identified several combined vocalizations, which might represent variable underlying motivations. Lastly, by including data on the social contexts and production of vocalizations by different age-sex classes, we provide preliminary information about the function of vocalizations in social interactions for individuals of different rank, age, and sex. Future studies are necessary to explore the function of combined vocalizations and how the social function of vocalizations relate to their acoustic structure, because social use of vocalizations may play an important role in shaping vocal evolution.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnold, K., & Zuberbühler, K. (2006). The alarm calling system of adult male putty-nosed monkeys, Cercopithecus nictitans martini. Animal Behavior, 72, 643–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauers, K. A. (1993). A functional analysis of staccato grunt vocalizations in the stumptailed macaque (Macaca arctoides). Ethology, 94, 147–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauers, K. A., & de Waal, F. B. M. (1991). “Coo” vocalizations in stump-tailed macaques: a controlled functional analysis. Behaviour, 119, 143–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bermejo, M., & Omedes, A. (1999). Preliminary vocal repertoire and vocal communication of wild bonobs (Pan paniscus) at Lilungu (Democratic Republic of Congo). Folia Primatologica, 70, 328–357.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blount, B. (1985). “Girney” vocalizations among Japanese macaque females: Context and function. Primates, 26, 424–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumstein, D., & Armitage, K. B. (1997). Does social complexity drive the evolution of communicative complexity? A comparative test with ground-dwelling sciurid alarm calls. American Naturalist, 150, 179–200.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boinski, S. (1993). Vocal coordination of troop movement among white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus capucinus. American Journal of Primatology, 30, 85–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boinksi, S., & Campbell, A. F. (1995). Use of trill vocalizations to coordinate troop movement among white-faced capuchins: A second field test. Behaviour, 132, 875–901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boinski, S., & Campbell, A. F. (1996). The “huh” vocalization of white-faced capuchins: A spacing call disguised as a food call? Ethology, 102, 826–840.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (1997). Reconciliatory grunts by dominant females influence victims' behaviour. Animal Behavior, 54, 409–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, D. L., Seyfarth, R. M., & Silk, J. B. (1995). The role of grunts in reconciling opponents and facilitating social interactions among female baboons. Animal Behavior, 50, 249–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleveland, J., & Snowdon, C. T. (1982). The complex vocal repertoire of the adult cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus oedipus). Zeitshrift für Tierpsychologie, 58, 231–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crockford, C., & Boesch, C. (2005). Call combinations in wild chimpanzees. Behaviour, 142, 397–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Bitetti, M. S. (2001). Food-associated calls in the tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella): Unravelling the mysteries of an apparently altruistic behavior in an apparently selfish animal. Ph.D. dissertation, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY.

  • Di Bitetti, M. S. (2003). Food-associated calls of tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella nigritus) are functionally referential signals. Behaviour, 140, 565–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Digweed, S. M., Fedigan, L. M., & Rendall, D. (2005). Variable specificity in the anti-predator vocalizations and behaviour of the white-faced capuchin, Cebus capucinus. Behaviour, 142, 997–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Digweed, S. M., Fedigan, L. M., & Rendall, D. (2007). Who cares who calls? Selective responses to the lost calls of socially dominant group members in the white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus). American Journal of Primatology, 69, 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dittus, W. P. J. (1984). Toque macaque food calls: Semantic communication concerning food distribution in the environment. Animal Behavior, 32, 470–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunteman, G. H. (1989). Principal components analysis. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, C. S., & Evans, L. (1999). Chicken food calls are functionally referential. Animal Behavior, 58, 307–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fedigan, L. M. (1993). Sex differences and intersexual relations in adult white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus). International Journal of Primatology, 14, 853–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtel, C., & Hammerschmidt, K. (2002). Responses of redfronted lemurs (Eulemur fulvus rufus) to experimentally modified alarm calls: Evidence for urgency-based changes in call structure. Ethology, 108, 763–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtel, C., & Hammerschmidt, K. (2003). Responses of squirrel monkeys to experimentally modified mobbing calls. Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 113, 2927–2932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtel, C., Hammerschmidt, K., & Jürgens, U. (2001). On the vocal expression of emotion. A multiparametric analysis of different states of aversion in the squirrel monkey. Behaviour, 138, 97–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtel, C., & Kappeler, P. M. (2002). Anti-predator behaviour of group-living Malagasy primates: Mixed evidence for a referential alarm call system. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 51, 262–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fichtel, C., Perry, S., & Gros-Louis, J. (2005). Alarm calls of white-faced capuchin monkeys: An acoustic analysis. Animal Behavior, 170, 165–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J. (1998). Barbary macaques categorize shrill barks into two call types. Animal Behavior, 55, 799–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J., & Hammerschmidt, K. (2001). Functional referents and acoustic similarity revisited: The case of Barbary macaque alarm calls. Animal Cognition, 4, 29–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J., & Hammerschmidt, K. (2002). An overview of the Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus, vocal repertoire. Folia Primatologica, 73, 32–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J., Hammerschmidt, K., Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (2002). Acoustic features of male baboon loud calls: Influences of context, age, and individuality. Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 111, 1465–1474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J., Hammerschmidt, K., & Todt, D. (1995). Factors affecting acoustic variation in Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) disturbance calls. Ethology, 101, 51–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J., Kitchen, D. M., Seyfarth, R. M., & Cheney, D. L. (2004). Baboon loud calls advertise male quality: Acoustic features and their relation to rank, age, and exhaustion. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 56, 140–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, J., Metz, M., Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (2001). Categorical responses of Chacma baboons to graded bark variants? Animal Behavior, 61, 925–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankie, G. W., Vinston, S. B., Newstrom, L. E., & Barthell, J. F. (1988). Nest and and habitat preferences of Centris bees in the Costa Rican dry forest. Biotropica, 20, 301–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freese, C., & Oppenheimer, J. (1981). The capuchin monkeys, genus Cebus. In A. Coimbra-Filho, & R. Mittermeier (Eds.), Ecology and behavior of neotropical primates (vol. 1). Rio de Janeiro: Academia Brasileira de Ciencias.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gouzoules, S., & Gouzoules, H. (2000). Agonistic screams differ among four species of macaques: The significance of motivational-structural rules. Animal Behavior, 59, 501–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gros-Louis, J. (2002). Contexts and behavioral correlates of trill vocalizations in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus). American Journal of Primatology, 57, 189–202.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gros-Louis, J. (2004a). The function of food-associated calls from the perspective of the signaller. Animal Behavior, 67, 431–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gros-Louis, J. (2004b). White-faced capuchins' responses to naturalistic and experimentally presented food-associated calls. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 118, 396–402.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gros-Louis, J. (2006). Acoustic description and contextual analysis of food-associated calls in Cebus capucinus. International Journal of Primatology, 27, 273–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammerschmidt, K., & Fischer, J. (1998). The vocal repertoire of Barbary macaques: A quantitative analysis of a graded signal system. Ethology, 104, 203–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammerschmidt, K., & Todt, D. (1995). Individual differences in vocalizations of young barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus): A multi-parametric analysis to identify critical cues in acoustic signaling. Behaviour, 132, 381–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harcourt, A. H., Stewart, K. J., & Hauser, M. (1993). Functions of wild gorilla close calls. I. Repertoire, context and interspecific comparison. Behaviour, 124, 89–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauser, M. D. (1993). The evolution of nonhuman primate vocalizations: Effects of phylogeny, body size, and social context. American Naturalist, 142, 528–542.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hauser, M. D. (1998). Functional referents and acoustic similarity: Field playback experiments with rhesus monkeys. Animal Behavior, 55, 1647–1658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klecka, W. (1980). Discriminant analysis. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macedonia, J. M. (1990). What is communicated in the antipredator calls of lemursh: Evidence from playback experiments with ringtailed and ruffed lemurs. Ethology, 86, 177–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macedonia, J. M. (1993). The vocal repertoire of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta). Folia Primatologica, 61, 186–217.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manser, M. B. (2001). The acoustic structure of suricate's alarm calls vary with predator class and response urgency. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, 268, 2485–2491.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manson, J. H., Perry, S., & Parish, A. R. (1997). Nonconceptive sexual behavior in bonobos and capuchins. International Journal of Primatology, 18, 767–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marler, P. (1965). Communication in monkeys and apes. In I. DeVore (Ed.), Primate behavior: Field studies in monkeys and apes (pp. 544–584). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marler, P. (1976). Social organization, communication and graded signals: the chimpanzee and the gorilla. In P. Bateson, & R. A. Hinde (Eds.), Growing points in ethology (pp. 239–280). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marler, P. (1977). The structure of animal communication sounds. In T. H. Bullock (Ed.), Recognition of complex acoustic signals (pp. 17–35). Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • McComb, K., & Semple, S. (2005). Coevolution of vocal communication and sociality in primates. Biology Letters, 1, 381–385.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McShane, L. J., Estes, J. A., Riedman, M. L., & Staedler, M. M. (1995). Repertoire, structure and individual variation of vocalizations in the sea otter. Journal of Mammology, 76, 414–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitani, J. (1985). Sexual selection and adult male orangutan long calls. Animal Behavior, 33, 272–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, E. S. (1977). On the occurrence and significance of motivation-structural rules in some bird and mammal sounds. American Naturalist, 111, 855–869.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, E. S. (1982). Grading, discreteness, redundancy, and motivational-structural rules. In D. Kroodsma, & E. H. Miller (Eds.), Acoustic communication in birds (pp. 183–212). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oppenheimer, J. R. (1973). Social and communicatory behavior in the Cebus monkey. In C. R. Carpenter (Ed.), Behavioral regulators of behavior in primates (pp. 251–271). Cranbury, N J: Associated University Presses.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owings, D. H., & Morton, E. S. (1998). Animal Vocal Communication: A new approach. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owren, M. J., & Rendall, D. (2001). Sound on the rebound: Bringing form and function back to the forefront in understanding nonhuman primate vocal signaling. Evolutionary Anthropology, 10, 58–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palombit, R. A. (1992). A preliminary study of the vocal communication in wild long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), I. Vocal repertoire and call emission. International Journal of Primatology, 13, 143–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palombit, R. A., Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (1999). Male grunts as mediators of social interaction with females in wild chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus). Behaviour, 136, 221–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, S. (1995). Social relationships in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus capucinus. Ph.D. thesis, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

  • Perry, S. (1996). Intergroup encounters in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus capucinus. American Journal of Primatology, 40, 167–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, S. (1998). Male-male social relationships in wild white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus. Behaviour, 135, 139–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, S., Baker, M., Fedigan, L., Gros-Louis, J., Jack, K., MacKinnon, K., et al. (2003). Social conventions in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys: Evidence for traditions in a neotropical primate. Current Anthropology, 44, 241–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, S., Barrett, H. C., & Manson, J. H. (2004). White-faced capuchins show triadic awareness in their choice of allies. Animal Behavior, 67, 165–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Range, F., & Fischer, J. (2004). Vocal repertoire of sooty magabeys (Cercocebus torquatus atys) in the Taï National Park. Ethology, 110, 301–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rendall, D., Seyfarth, R. M., Cheney, D. L., & Owren, M. J. (1999). The meaning and function of grunt variants in baboons. Animal Behavior, 57, 583–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, R. L., & McCreery, E. K. (2003). African wild dog pup vocalizations with special reference to Morton's model. Behaviour, 140, 333–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. G. (1979). Vocal regulation of use of space by groups of titi monkeys Callicebus moloch. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 5, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. G. (1982). Vocal systems regulating within-group spacing. In C. T. Snowdon, C. H. Brown, & M. R. Petersen (Eds.), Primate communication (pp. 94–116). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. G. (1984). Syntactic structures in the vocalizations of wedge-capped capuchin monkeys, Cebus olivaceus. Behaviour, 90, 46–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schott, D. (1975). Quantitative analysis of the vocal repertoire of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri scieureus). Zeitshrift für Tierpsychologie, 38, 225–250.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schrader, L., & Hammerschmidt, K. (1997). Computer-aided analysis of acoustic parameters in animal vocalizations: A multi-parametric approach. Bioacoustics, 7, 247–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schrader, L., & Todt, D. (1993). Contact call parameters covary with social context in common marmosets, Callithrix j. jacchus. Animal Behavior, 46, 1026–1028.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seyfarth, R. M., Cheney, D. L., & Marler, P. (1980). Monkey responses to 3 different alarm calls: Evidence for predator classification and semantic communication. Science, 210, 801–803.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Todt, D., Hammerschmidt, K., Ansorge, V., & Fischer, J. (1995). The vocal behavior of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus): Call features and their performance in infants and adults. In E. Zimmerman, J. D. Newman, & U. Jurgens (Eds.), Current topics in primate vocal communication (pp. 141–160). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, J. M., & Stookey, J. M. (1999). Effects of restraint and branding on rates and acoustic parameters of vocalization in beef cattle. Applied Animal Behavior Science, 62, 125–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weary, D. M., Braithwaite, L. A., & Fraser, D. (1998). Vocal response to pain in piglets. Applied Animal Behavior Science, 56, 161–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, R. H., & Richards, D. G. (1978). Physical constraints on acoustic communication in the atmosphere: Implications for the evolution of animal vocalization. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 3, 69–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, E. (1985). The vocal repertoire of the adult Senegal bushbaby (Galago senegalensis senegalensis). Behaviour, 94, 212–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuberbühler, K. (2000). Referential labelling in Diana monkeys. Animal Behavior, 59, 917–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuberbühler, K. (2002). A syntactic rule in forest monkey communication. Animal Behavior, 63, 293–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuberbühler, K., Cheney, D. L., & Seyfarth, R. M. (1999). Conceptual semantics in a nonhuman primate. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 113, 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

All authors received support from The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology during the analysis phase of the project. The following sources supported J. J. Gros-Louis during data collection: a dissertation research award from the American Psychological Association, an NSF predoctoral research fellowship and an NSF doctoral dissertation improvement grant, and a Vessa Notchev Fellowship from SDE-GWIS and The University of Pennsylvania. The following sources supported S. E. Perry during data collection: The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the National Geographic Society, NSF (NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellowship no. 9633991, a graduate fellowship, and POWRE grant no. 9870429), the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the UCLA Academic Senate, the Rackham (University of Michigan) Graduate School, the Evolution and Human Behavior Program, the University of Michigan Alumnae Society, the Killam Trust, and Sigma Xi. We thank the Costa Rican National Park Service, the Area Conservación Tempisque, the community of San Ramon de Bagaces, Hacienda Pelón de la Bajura, and Brin d'Amour Estates for permission to work in areas of the monkeys' home ranges. J. Anderson, K. Atkins, T. Bishop, F. Campos, G. Dower, M. Duffy, L. Johnson, E. Kennedy, S. Kessler, M. Mendoza F., W. Lammers, T. Lord, W. Meno, J. C. Ordoñez J., N. Parker, B. Pav, K. Potter, K. Pyle, K. Ratliff, H. Ruffler, C. Schmitt, A. Steele, and M. Varley provided assistance in behavioral data collection and recordings. J. Silk wrote the program FOCOBS for data collection. K. Hammerschmidt designed and provided technical assistance for the LMA program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Julie J. Gros-Louis

  2. Proyecto de Monos, Apdo 5, Bagaces, Guanacaste, 50401, Costa Rica

    Susan E. Perry, Hannah Gilkenson & Alex Fuentes

  3. Department of Anthropology, Behavior, Evolution and Culture Program, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Susan E. Perry

  4. Department of Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, German Primate Center, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Claudia Fichtel

  5. Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AL, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Eva Wikberg

  6. School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Susan Wofsy

Authors
  1. Julie J. Gros-Louis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan E. Perry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Claudia Fichtel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eva Wikberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hannah Gilkenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Susan Wofsy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Alex Fuentes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie J. Gros-Louis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gros-Louis, J.J., Perry, S.E., Fichtel, C. et al. Vocal Repertoire of Cebus capucinus: Acoustic Structure, Context, and Usage. Int J Primatol 29, 641–670 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9263-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9263-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation