Dissertation Research: Food-Associated Calls in Wild White-Faced Capuchin Monkeys

许多动物在进食或发现食物时会发出不同的声音。许多假说试图解释这些叫声的演变。有一种假说认为，食物叫声仅仅是当叫声者发现食物时兴奋的无意识结果。 或者，食物呼叫可以通知其他人已经发现的食物的类型、位置或数量。食物召唤对其他人的意义，以及它们的假定功能，通常通过观察附近听众的反应来推断。然而，引起相同响应的调用可能由不同的潜在机制引起。在这个意义上，呼叫的意义可能与信号发送者和接收者的观点不同。研究人员建议进行实地观察和实验，研究生活在哥斯达黎加的野生白面卷尾猴发出食物叫声的原因。他们将研究呼叫如何受到（1）观众的存在或不存在，（2）食物数量和细分，以及（3）觅食环境的影响。先前在研究中心的经验确保了这项工作可以在12个月内完成，并且实验是可行的。研究结果将为我们理解非人灵长类动物发声的机制做出重大贡献。反过来，这些数据将有助于制定有关人类语言进化的理论。

Many animals give distinct vocalizations when feeding or upon discovering food. A number of hypotheses attempt to explain the evolution of these calls. One hypothesis argues that food calls are simply the involuntary consequence of excitement when the caller finds food. Alternatively, food calls may inform others about the type, location, or amount of food that has been discovered. The meaning of food calls to others, and hence their presumed function, is often inferred by observing the responses of nearby listeners. However, calls that elicit the same response may be caused by different underlying mechanisms. Call meaning, in this sense, may be different from the signaler's and the recipient's perspective. The researchers propose field observations and experiments to study the causes of food-calling in wild white-faced capuchin monkeys living in Costa Rica. They will investigate how calling is influenced by (1) the presence or absence of an audience, (2) food quantity and subdivisibility, and (3) foraging context. Prior experience at the study site assures that the work can be completed in 12 months and that the experiments are feasible. Results will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie vocal production in nonhuman primates. These data, in turn, will help to formulate theories about the evolution of human language.