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The relationship between testosterone and long-distance calling in wild male chimpanzees

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Abstract

Long-distance calling is a common behaviour in animals, which has various important social functions. At a physiological level, calling is often mediated by gonadal hormones such as testosterone (T), particularly when its function is linked to intra-sexual competition for mates or territory. T also plays an important role in the development of vocal characteristics associated with dominance in humans. However, the few available studies of T and vocal behaviour in non-human primates suggest that in primates, T has less influence on call production than in other animals. We tested this hypothesis by studying the relationship between T concentrations and pant-hooting in wild male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in the Kibale National Park, Uganda. We found three kinds of correlation. Hourly T averages were positively associated with hourly rates of pant-hooting. Monthly T levels were likewise correlated with monthly rates of pant-hooting after controlling for other influences such as fission-fusion rates. Finally, males with high T levels had higher peak frequency at the start of the call climax. These results suggest that T affects the production of pant-hoots in chimpanzees. This implies that the pant-hoot call plays a role in male-male competition. We propose that even in cognitively sophisticated species, endocrine mechanisms can contribute to regulating vocal production.

Significance statement

Many animals produce long-distance calls. The production of these calls is often modulated by gonadal hormones such as testosterone, especially if the calls are involved in competition between males for mates or territory. However, comparatively little is known about the influence of testosterone over the vocal behaviour of non-human primates, especially among great apes. In this study, we examined the relationship between testosterone and pant-hooting in wild male chimpanzees. We found that testosterone levels were associated with pant-hoot rates and one acoustic feature of the call. More specifically, males pant-hooted more often and produced pant-hoots with higher peak frequencies during periods of elevated testosterone levels. These results imply that gonadal hormones are involved in regulating vocal behaviour in chimpanzees and support the view that pant-hoots play a role in male-male competition.

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Acknowledgements

Permission to conduct the study was granted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. We would like to thank the KCP field manager Emily Otali and KCP field assistants Francis Mugurusi, Solomon Musana, James Kyomuhendo, Wilberforce Tweheyo, Sunday John and Christopher Irumba, who were extremely helpful during the fieldwork. We thank Hugh Notman for his insightful comments and suggestions that considerably improved the paper. This work was supported by a BBSRC studentship, an American Society of Primatologists General Small Grant, a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, NSF grants no. 0849380 and no. 1355014, the Leakey Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Research reported in this publication was also supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AG049395. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, CH-2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Pawel Fedurek

  2. Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK

    Katie E. Slocombe

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, MSC 1040-01, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    Drew K. Enigk, Melissa Emery Thompson & Martin N. Muller

  4. Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Richard W. Wrangham

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  1. Pawel Fedurek
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Correspondence to Pawel Fedurek or Martin N. Muller.

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Permission to conduct the study was granted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. The study complied with the current laws of Uganda. This study was approved by, and carried out in accordance with, the Department of Psychology Ethics Committee at the University of York.

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Communicated by R. I. M. Dunbar

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Fedurek, P., Slocombe, K.E., Enigk, D.K. et al. The relationship between testosterone and long-distance calling in wild male chimpanzees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 70, 659–672 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2087-1

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