title: Complex patterns of signalling to convey different social goals of sex in bonobos, Pan paniscus.
abstract: Sexual behaviour in bonobos (Pan paniscus) functions beyond mere reproduction to mediate social interactions and relationships. In this study, we assessed the signalling behaviour in relation to four social goals of sex in this species: appeasement after conflict, tension reduction, social bonding and reproduction. Overall, sexual behaviour was strongly decoupled from its ancestral reproductive function with habitual use in the social domain, which was accompanied by a corresponding complexity in communication behaviour. We found that signalling behaviour varied systematically depending on the initiator's goals and gender. Although all gestures and vocalisations were part of the species-typical communication repertoire, they were often combined and produced flexibly. Generally, gestures and multi-modal combinations were more flexibly used to communicate a goal than vocalisations. There was no clear relation between signalling behaviour and success of sexual initiations, suggesting that communication was primarily used to indicate the signaller's intention, and not to influence a recipient's willingness to interact sexually. We discuss these findings in light of the larger question of what may have caused, in humans, the evolutionary transition from primate-like communication to language.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, rue Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Genty
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, rue Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christof
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, rue Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.|School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, Scotland (UK).
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zuberbühler
mesh_terms: D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006040:Goals; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D019974:Pan paniscus / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior