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. 2016 May;70(5):659-672.
doi: 10.1007/s00265-016-2087-1. Epub 2016 Mar 2.

The relationship between testosterone and long-distance calling in wild male chimpanzees

Pawel Fedurek  1 , Katie E Slocombe  2 , Drew K Enigk  3 , Melissa Emery Thompson  3 , Richard W Wrangham  4 , Martin N Muller  3
Affiliations

The relationship between testosterone and long-distance calling in wild male chimpanzees

Pawel Fedurek et al. Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 2016 May.

Abstract

Long-distance calling is a common behaviour in animals that has various important social functions. At a physiological level, calling is often mediated by gonadal hormones such as testosterone (T), particularly when its function is linked to intra-sexual competition for mates or territory. T also plays an important role in the development of vocal characteristics associated with dominance in humans. However, the few available studies of T and vocal behaviour in non-human primates suggest that in primates T has less influence on call production than in other animals. We tested this hypothesis by studying the relationship between T concentrations and pant hooting in wild male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) of the Kanyawara community in the Kibale National Park, Uganda. We found three kinds of correlation. Hourly T averages were positively associated with hourly rates of pant-hooting. Monthly T levels were likewise correlated with monthly rates of pant hooting after controlling for other influences such as fission-fusion rates. Finally, males with high T levels had higher peak frequency at the start of the call climax. These results suggest that T affects the production of pant-hoots in chimpanzees. This implies that the pant-hoot call plays a role in male-male competition. We propose that even in cognitively sophisticated species, endocrine mechanisms can contribute to regulating vocal production.

Keywords: acoustic structure; chimpanzee; pant hooting; testosterone; vocal behaviour.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A spectrogram showing the four phases of a pant hoot. a = introduction, b = build-up, c = climax, d = let-down (from Fedurek et al. 2013b)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean monthly pant hoot rates and testosterone levels
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mean monthly pant hoot rates and fission-fusion rates with males
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Mean hourly levels of pant hoot rates and testosterone levels
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
The relationship between mean annual levels of testosterone and mean peak frequencies at the start of the climax
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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