title: Heterospecific alarm call recognition in a non-vocal reptile.
abstract: The ability to recognize and respond to the alarm calls of heterospecifics has previously been described only in species with vocal communication. Here we provide evidence that a non-vocal reptile, the Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), can eavesdrop on the alarm call of the Galápagos mockingbird (Nesomimus parvulus) and respond with anti-predator behaviour. Eavesdropping on complex heterospecific communications demonstrates a remarkable degree of auditory discrimination in a non-vocal species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. mvitouse@princeton.edu
authors.forename: Maren N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Vitousek
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Adelman
authors.forename: Nathan C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: James J H St
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Clair
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D007076:Iguanas / Q000502:physiology*; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000502:physiology; D014828:Vocalization, Animal