Abstract
The effects of social separation, including vocalization, have been studied for a very long time in non-human primates under laboratory conditions. As part of the long-term research on the vocal behaviour of Nomascus gibbons in zoos, this study provides the first record of calls of the southern yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) in response to involuntary separation. Our study revealed that calls were also emitted by an infant (aged 1 year 8 months), and that the acoustic structure of the infant’s calls was similar to that of older individuals’ calls. Separation-induced calls seem to have a shorter developmental convergence than vocalizations with a stable pattern (which are specific for species and sex). The acoustic structure of the calls reported here comprised simple syllables, and differed from the sex- and species-specific vocal patterns of this species. Our findings demonstrate a novel paradigm in this genus, and provide evidence of the ability of gibbons to express distress when socially separated.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Helena Chaloupková, Tereza Nekovářová and Stanislav Lhota for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript. Furthermore, we thank all the curators and keepers at the Czech and Slovak zoos involved in this study for their support and permission for the collection of data during an extensive period. G. Illmann had institutional support (MZE-RO0719) from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic.
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All applicable international and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The zoological institutions in which the animals in this study live maintain rigorous standards of animal welfare and are accredited by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and the Union of Czech and Slovak Zoos. This study was approved by the Ethics and Animal Care Committee of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (protocol no. CZU/1606) and was fully non-invasive. This study fully complied with the legal requirements of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, as well as those stipulated by European Directive 2010/63/EU.
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Hradec, M., Illmann, G. & Bolechová, P. A first report of separation calls in southern yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) in captivity. Primates 62, 5–10 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00870-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00870-x