Cross-population variation in usage of a call combination: evidence of signal 
usage flexibility in wild bonobos

Schamberg, Isaac; Surbeck, Martin; Townsend, Simon W.

doi:10.1007/s10071-024-01884-4

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Cross-population variation in usage of a call combination: evidence of signal usage flexibility in wild bonobos

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Surbeck, Martin
Department of Human Behavior Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Schamberg, I., Surbeck, M., & Townsend, S. W. (2024). Cross-population variation in usage of a call combination: evidence of signal usage flexibility in wild bonobos. Animal Cognition, 27: 58. doi:10.1007/s10071-024-01884-4.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-000F-D299-7

Abstract

The arbitrary relationship between signifier and signified is one of the features responsible for language's extreme lability, adaptability, and expressiveness. Understanding this arbitrariness and its emergence is essential in any account of the evolution of language. To shed light on the phylogeny of the phenomenon, comparative data examining the relationship between signal form and function in the communication systems of non-humans is central. Here we report the results of a study on the production and usage the whistle-high hoot call combination (W + HH) from two distant populations of wild bonobos (Pan paniscus): Lui Kotale, DRC, and Kokolopori, DRC. We find that the context in which bonobos produce the W + HHs varies systematically between populations. Our results suggest that variation in W + HH production may represent an example of signal-adjustment optionality, a key component of arbitrariness.