%0 Journal Article %A Fournier, Floriane %A Perrier, Léo %A Girard-Buttoz, Cédric %A Keenan, Sumir %A Bortolato, Tatiana %A Wittig, Roman M. %A Crockford, Catherine %A Levrero, Florence %+ Department of Human Behavior Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society Department of Human Behavior Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society Department of Human Behavior Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society %T Emotions mediate nonlinear phenomena production in the vocalizations of two ape species : %G eng %U https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0011-0B9F-F %R 10.1098/rstb.2024.0013 %7 2025-04-03 %D 2025 %8 03.04.2025 %* Review method: peer-reviewed %X Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) are widely observed in mammal
vocalizations. One prominent, albeit rarely empirically tested, theory
suggests that NLP serve to communicate individual emotional states. Here,
we test this ‘emotional hypothesis’ by assessing NLP production in the
vocalizations of chimpanzees and bonobos across various social contexts.
These two species are relevant to test this hypothesis since bonobos
are more socially opportunistic than chimpanzees. We found that both
species produced, albeit at different frequencies, the same five distinct
NLP types. Contextual valence influenced NLP production in both species
with negative valence being associated with more frequent NLP production
than positive and neutral valence. In contrast, using aggression severity
and caller role as proxies for arousal, we found that in bonobos, but not
in chimpanzees, vocalizations uttered during contact aggression or from
victims and females contained more NLP. In contrast, the type of NLP
produced was neither influenced by valence nor arousal in either species.
Our study supports the emotional hypothesis regarding the occurrence
of NLP production in mammals, particularly in opportunistics such as
bonobos. This reinforces the hypothesis of an adaptative role of NLP
in animal communication and prompts further investigations into their
communicative functions.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Nonlinear phenomena in
vertebrate vocalizations: mechanisms and communicative functions’. %K bioacoustics, bonobo, chimpanzee, valence, arousal, aggression %J Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences %V 380 %N 1923 %] 20240013 %@ 0962-84361471-2970