title: Cross-modal recognition of familiar conspecifics in goats.
abstract: When identifying other individuals, animals may match current cues with stored information about that individual from the same sensory modality. Animals may also be able to combine current information with previously acquired information from other sensory modalities, indicating that they possess complex cognitive templates of individuals that are independent of modality. We investigated whether goats (Capra hircus) possess cross-modal representations (auditory-visual) of conspecifics. We presented subjects with recorded conspecific calls broadcast equidistant between two individuals, one of which was the caller. We found that, when presented with a stablemate and another herd member, goats looked towards the caller sooner and for longer than the non-caller, regardless of caller identity. By contrast, when choosing between two herd members, other than their stablemate, goats did not show a preference to look towards the caller. Goats show cross-modal recognition of close social partners, but not of less familiar herd members. Goats may employ inferential reasoning when identifying conspecifics, potentially facilitating individual identification based on incomplete information. Understanding the prevalence of cross-modal recognition and the degree to which different sensory modalities are integrated provides insight into how animals learn about other individuals, and the evolution of animal communication.
authors.affiliation: Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK; Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109 New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8580-0343
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Pitcher
authors.affiliation: Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK; Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 2, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Elodie F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Briefer
authors.affiliation: Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences , Queen Mary University of London , Mile End Road, London E1 4NS , UK.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baciadonna
authors.affiliation: Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences , Queen Mary University of London , Mile End Road, London E1 4NS , UK.
authors.forename: Alan G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: McElligott
keywords: individual recognition; mammals; multimodal communication; ungulates; visual recognition; vocal communication