On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to inform you our new
publication in Behaviour:
Good fences make good neighbours: territorial male Cape fur
seals use spatial acoustic map of neighbours
Mathilde Martin, Tess Gridley, Simon Elwen, Isabelle Charrier
Abstract: In territorial species, individual recognition among
neighbouring males is likely to reduce energy expenses and risk of
injury associated with the costly period of maintaining territory
during the breeding season. This study explored neighbour–stranger
vocal recognition in male Cape fur seals, one of the most colonial
and polygynous mammals. Playback experiments revealed that
territorial males were able to recognise the calls of their
neighbours, in combination with their relative spatial position to
their own harem. No ‘dear-enemy’ nor ‘nasty neighbour’ effects were
detected. However, the strongest responses observed were towards the
calls of familiar neighbours played back from an incongruent
location, simulating a situation in which a neighbour is outside its
own territory. The colony structure and movements of the seals
across the day could explain such results. This study has
implications for understanding how vocal signals regulate
interactions among males in polygynous mammals, particularly during
the competitive mating period.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions
Best regards,
--
Mathilde MARTIN, PhD
Acoustic Communications Team, Department Cognition & Network
Neuroscience
NeuroPSI - Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience
151 rue de la Rotonde, 91400 Saclay, FRANCE https://neuropsi.cnrs.fr