Navigation Links
Orangutan's spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech
Date:12/11/2008

rg, an animal caretaker at the National Zoo.

Scientists have long known that orangutans copy physical movements of humans, but Bonnie's whistling indicates that the learning capacities of orangutans and other great apes in the auditory domain might be more flexible than previously believed, Wich said. The behavior goes against the argument that orangutans have no control over their vocalizations and the sounds are purely emotional that is, an involuntary response to stimuli such as predators.

Bonnie appears to whistle for the sake of making a sound rather than to receive a food reward or some other incentive. If asked to whistle, she is likely to oblige, another indication to scientists that she makes the sound voluntarily.

In their paper, Wich and his colleagues also shared anecdotal information about Indah, a female orangutan who lived with Bonnie at the National Zoo before moving to Great Ape Trust in 2004. Indah also began to whistle some years after Bonnie was first observed making the sound in the late 1980s, but Indah died before recordings could be made of her whistles. Scientists believe that Indah's whistling was a vocalization learned from Bonnie.

That compares with what scientists assume about social learning in wild orangutan populations. For example earlier work by Dr. van Schaik and colleagues showed that wild orangutans in one population make a "raspberry" sound during nest-making, while orangutans in another population make a "nest smack" sound when engaged in the same activity. Wich said it's unlikely that purely genetic or ecological factors explain the differences in sounds of different orangutan populations. Rather, it's more likely others copy one orangutan's innovative sound because the sound serves a function.

"This is a very strong indication that different sounds among wild populations are learned and are not purely genetically or ecologically based," Wich said. "This is a great indication that orangutans can le
'/>"/>

Contact: Al Setka
asetka@greatapetrust.org
515-243-3580
Great Ape Trust of Iowa
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Who will recover spontaneously from hepatitis C virus infection
2. Researchers observe spontaneous ratcheting of single ribosome molecules
3. A study by the MUHC and McGill University opens a new door to understanding cancer
4. Same gene protects from 1 disease, opens door to another
5. IdentiPHI Opens Paris Office to Boost European Sales and Support
6. Cold treatment opens doors for citrus exports to Japan
7. Truck-safe bamboo bridge opens in China
8. Profound immune system discovery opens door to halting destruction of lupus
9. Electronic switch opens doors in rheumatoid joints
10. Experimental Biology and Medicine announces expansion into Asia, opens new office
11. New window opens on the secret life of microbes
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Orangutan's spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech
(Date:5/24/2013)... Cancer cells spread and grow by avoiding detection and ... system can help to eliminate cancer cells; however, there ... ignore cancer cells. Regulatory T cells are immune cells ... this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation ... found that regulatory T cells that infiltrate tumors express ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... water scientists from around the world today issued a ... span of one or two generations, the majority of ... under the handicap of severe pressure on fresh water, ... no substitute. This handicap will be self-inflicted and is, ... to chronic underlying problems led by mismanagement and sent ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... ships per year, carrying more than 284 million tons of ... billion dollars in toll fees for the Panama Canal Authority. ... gallons of water are used from Gatun Lake, which is ... living in the isthmus. , However, the advent of ... of the ships at sea, has demanded change. The Panama ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 2A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 3A majority on Earth face severe self-inflicted water woes within 2 generations: Scientists 4Reforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timber 2Reforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timber 3
... answered one of neuroscience's most vexing questions--how can it ... crystal-clear thoughts, seem to fire in utterly random ways? ... Rochester study shows that the brain's cortex uses seemingly ... the real world--and that this noise dramatically enhances the ...
... Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital turned up ... of these unruly molecules perform critical functions in the ... collection, investigation and classification of these so-called intrinsically unstructured ... vital roles in the daily activities of cells. ...
... life's first cells, Irene Chen, a regional winner from North ... receive the $25,000 GE & Science Prize for Young Life ... , which is published by AAAS, the nonprofit society. , ... 11 December, during an award ceremony. She will also meet ...
Cached Biology News:Mysterious 'neural noise' actually primes brain for peak performance 2Mysterious 'neural noise' actually primes brain for peak performance 3First major study of mammalian 'disorderly' proteins 2American scientist's research of life's first cells 2American scientist's research of life's first cells 3American scientist's research of life's first cells 4
(Date:5/24/2013)... Vestiage, Inc. (stock symbol "VEST") a publicly ... and development, sales and marketing of premium branded ... that it is awarding exclusive Vestiage territories in ... Skin Illuminating Facial Care. Qualified applicants can request ... email to info(at)vestiageinc(dot)com and putting RELUMA in the ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Every day, their baby stopped breathing, his collapsed ... lungs. April and Bryan Gionfriddo watched helplessly, just praying ... a few doctors said he had a good chance ... about her now 20-month-old son, Kaiba. "At that point, ... take it and run with it." , They found ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Can economic incentives such as gift ... of the public to increase their donations of blood? ... Carey Business School Assistant Professor Mario Macis says ... large body of recent research that supports their argument, ... issue of Science that the World Health Organization and ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013 PuraMed ... developer, and marketer of over-the-counter (OTC) medicinal and ... research opinion on the company based on low ... , Non-Prescription, All Natural Product to Treat ... Product Outperforms #1 Prescription Competitor , Currently ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 2Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 3Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 4Vestiage Announces Launch of Exclusive Territories for Reluma Brand Sales in USA 5Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing 2Baby's life saved with groundbreaking 3-D printed device that restored his breathing 3Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 2Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 3PuraMed BioScience (PMBS) Issued Alert Based on Market Cap of $721,756 2PuraMed BioScience (PMBS) Issued Alert Based on Market Cap of $721,756 3
... Wisconsin Department of Commerce has announced that ... businesses for technology development projects. , ,NovaScan, a Milwaukee-based ... materials used to identify different tissue types, will receive ... and test a prototype for clinical application of its ...
... world's most powerful supercomputers are used for biotechtechnology ... surprise to the Wisconsin companies operating at the ... while information technology is extremely important in the ... manufacturing and analysis, enterprise resource planning systems track ...
... Wis. - An education research team at the ... MacArthur Foundation to study the impact of digital ... total $50 million investment will support 24 national studies of ... societal implications. , ,"What MacArthur is actually trying to ...
Cached Biology Technology:Proceeding with caution at corner of IT & biotech 2Proceeding with caution at corner of IT & biotech 3Proceeding with caution at corner of IT & biotech 4UW gets $3M to explore educational gaming 2UW gets $3M to explore educational gaming 3
Anti-Flavocytochrome b Monoclonal, FITC Labeled Research Focus: other Storage: 4C Shipping Temperature: 4C...
Chaps Cell Extract Buffer can be used to lyse cells under nondenaturing conditions and is recommendedfor the preparation of cell lysates to be used with our caspase signaling pathway antibodies...
Rabbit polyclonal to Reptin/TIP49B/RUVB2 ( Abpromise for all tested applications). Antigen: Synthetic peptide (Human) Entrez Gene ID: 10856 Swiss Protein ID: Q6FIB9...
Anti-human L-Ficolin, Clone GN4, Monoclonal Antibody...
Biology Products: