Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats
Animals living in human care for several generations face the risk of losing natural behaviors, which can lead to reduced animal welfare. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that meerkats (<i>Suricata suricatta</i>) living in zoos can assess potential danger and respond naturally ba...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3064 |
| _version_ | 1827600501885108224 |
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| author | Sebastian Schneider Sarah Goettlich Charlette Diercks Paul Wilhelm Dierkes |
| author_facet | Sebastian Schneider Sarah Goettlich Charlette Diercks Paul Wilhelm Dierkes |
| author_sort | Sebastian Schneider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animals living in human care for several generations face the risk of losing natural behaviors, which can lead to reduced animal welfare. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that meerkats (<i>Suricata suricatta</i>) living in zoos can assess potential danger and respond naturally based on acoustic signals only. This includes that the graded information of urgency in alarm calls as well as a response to those alarm calls is retained in captivity. To test the response to acoustic signals with different threat potential, meerkats were played calls of various animals differing in size and threat (e.g., robin, raven, buzzard, jackal) while their behavior was observed. The emitted alarm calls were recorded and examined for their graded structure on the one hand and played back to them on the other hand by means of a playback experiment to see whether the animals react to their own alarm calls even in the absence of danger. A fuzzy clustering algorithm was used to analyze and classify the alarm calls. Subsequently, the features that best described the graded structure were isolated using the LASSO algorithm and compared to features already known from wild meerkats. The results show that the graded structure is maintained in captivity and can be described by features such as noise and duration. The animals respond to new threats and can distinguish animal calls that are dangerous to them from those that are not, indicating the preservation of natural cooperative behavior. In addition, the playback experiments show that the meerkats respond to their own alarm calls with vigilance and escape behavior. The findings can be used to draw conclusions about the intensity of alertness in captive meerkats and to adapt husbandry conditions to appropriate welfare. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:36:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b50d38b5dad4ec6b98c6a96a556d61c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:36:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b50d38b5dad4ec6b98c6a96a556d61c2023-12-03T13:27:04ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-10-011111306410.3390/ani11113064Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive MeerkatsSebastian Schneider0Sarah Goettlich1Charlette Diercks2Paul Wilhelm Dierkes3Department of Bioscience Education and Zoo Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt, GermanyDepartment of Bioscience Education and Zoo Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt, GermanyDepartment of Bioscience Education and Zoo Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt, GermanyDepartment of Bioscience Education and Zoo Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt, GermanyAnimals living in human care for several generations face the risk of losing natural behaviors, which can lead to reduced animal welfare. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that meerkats (<i>Suricata suricatta</i>) living in zoos can assess potential danger and respond naturally based on acoustic signals only. This includes that the graded information of urgency in alarm calls as well as a response to those alarm calls is retained in captivity. To test the response to acoustic signals with different threat potential, meerkats were played calls of various animals differing in size and threat (e.g., robin, raven, buzzard, jackal) while their behavior was observed. The emitted alarm calls were recorded and examined for their graded structure on the one hand and played back to them on the other hand by means of a playback experiment to see whether the animals react to their own alarm calls even in the absence of danger. A fuzzy clustering algorithm was used to analyze and classify the alarm calls. Subsequently, the features that best described the graded structure were isolated using the LASSO algorithm and compared to features already known from wild meerkats. The results show that the graded structure is maintained in captivity and can be described by features such as noise and duration. The animals respond to new threats and can distinguish animal calls that are dangerous to them from those that are not, indicating the preservation of natural cooperative behavior. In addition, the playback experiments show that the meerkats respond to their own alarm calls with vigilance and escape behavior. The findings can be used to draw conclusions about the intensity of alertness in captive meerkats and to adapt husbandry conditions to appropriate welfare.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3064meerkatssuricatesbioacousticsgraded structurevocalizationalarm calls |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Schneider Sarah Goettlich Charlette Diercks Paul Wilhelm Dierkes Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats Animals meerkats suricates bioacoustics graded structure vocalization alarm calls |
| title | Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats |
| title_full | Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats |
| title_fullStr | Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats |
| title_short | Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats |
| title_sort | discrimination of acoustic stimuli and maintenance of graded alarm call structure in captive meerkats |
| topic | meerkats suricates bioacoustics graded structure vocalization alarm calls |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3064 |
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