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25 - Social complexity and the information acquired during eavesdropping by primates and other animals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2010

Dorothy L. Cheney
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
Robert M. Seyfarth
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
P. K. McGregor
Affiliation:
Cornwall College, Newquay
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Summary

Introduction

In many of the studies reviewed in this book, eavesdropping takes the following form: a subject has the opportunity to monitor, or eavesdrop upon, an interaction between two other animals, A and B. The subject then uses the information obtained through these observations to assess A's and B's relative dominance or attractiveness as a mate (e.g. Mennill et al., 2002; Ch. 2). For example, Oliveira et al. (1998) found that male fighting fish Betta splendens that had witnessed two other males involved in an aggressive interaction subsequently responded more strongly to the loser of that interaction than the winner. Subjects'behaviour could not have been influenced by any inherent differences between the two males, because subjects responded equally strongly to the winner and the loser of competitive interactions they had not observed. Similarly, Peake et al. (2001) presented male great tits Parus major with the opportunity to monitor an apparent competitive interaction between two strangers by simulating a singing contest using two loudspeakers. The relative timing of the singing bouts (as measured by the degree of overlap between the two songs) provided information about each ‘contestant's’ relative status. Following the singing interaction, one of the ‘contestants’ was introduced into the male's territory. Males responded significantly less strongly to singers that had apparently just ‘lost’ the interaction (see also McGregor & Dabelsteen, 1996; Naguib et al., 1999; Ch. 2).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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