Biology:Interspecies communication

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Short description: Communication between different species

Interspecies communication, interspecific communication, or heterospecific communication refers to communication among animals, plants, microorganisms, or other organisms of different species. Although researchers have explored the topic for many years, only recently has interspecies communication been recognized as an established field of inquiry.[1]

Eavesdropping

Heterospecific eavesdropping occurs when an organism of one species gleans information from a signal emitted by an organism of another species for the purpose of conveying information to conspecifics.[2] In some cases, two species may exhibit bidirectional eavesdropping, in which organisms of both species acquire information from signals originating from organisms of the other.[2] Eavesdropping is sometimes not considered a form of communication,[3] but other models include it.[2]

Heterospecific eavesdropping allows organisms to obtain and benefit from information they might not otherwise be able to access as quickly, and may occur as part of mutualistic, commensal, competitive, parasitic, or predator-prey interactions.[2][4][5]

Alarm signals

A perched eagle with a much smaller bird grasping the back of its neck with its talons while in flight
Eagle being mobbed by a fantail

Responses to heterospecific alarm calls have been documented in over 70 mammalian, avian, and even reptilian species, some of which produce no alarm calls themselves.[3] When alarm calls contain more detailed information, their comprehension by heterospecifics varies, with some eavesdroppers extracting information on predator type or degree of danger.[3] For instance, Diana monkeys appear to distinguish between Campbell's monkey alarm calls indicating leopards and those indicating eagles.[6] Furthermore, when one species elicits an alarm signal specific to a certain predator, the other species react in the same pattern as the species that called. For example, leopards hunt both species by capitalizing the elements of stealth and surprise.[citation needed] If the monkeys detect the leopard before it attacks (usually resulting in mobbing), the leopard will typically not attack.[citation needed] Therefore, when a leopard alarm call is given, both species respond by positioning near the leopard signaling that it has been found out.[citation needed] Eavesdropping on alarm calls can occur bidirectionally, as with redfronted lemurs and Verreaux's sificas, which both exhibit mixed alarm call systems and respond differently to distinct alarm calls of the other species.[7] Beyond distinguishing among distinct alarm calls, superb fairy-wrens and white-browed scrubwrens mutually understand variations in single calls as establishing degrees of danger.[8]

Responses to heterospecific alarm calls have been identified in species that do not otherwise interact with one another, such as between the yellow-bellied marmot and golden-mantled ground squirrel.[9] Animals also engage in alarm signal eavesdropping across classes, with mammals and the Galapagos marine iguana documented eavesdropping on the alarm calls of birds and bird species found to eavesdrop on the alarm calls of mammals.[10][11] Red squirrels' acoustic response to raptors is near-identical to that of birds, making the latter also aware to a potential predatory threat, while eastern chipmunks are keen to mobbing calls by eastern tufted titmice.[12] Whether heterospecific understanding is a learned behavior or not is unclear.

Alarm signal eavesdropping may benefit the signaling species as well as the eavesdropper, either by depriving a shared predator of prey and causing it to leave an area, or by leading eavesdroppers to participate in mobbing.[3] For instance, black-capped chickadees produce mobbing calls that detail size and location information on predators, to which 24-50 different species are known to respond by participating in the mobbing.[13] One of these species, the red-breasted nuthatch, has been shown to selectively respond only to chickadee mobbing calls indicating more dangerous predators in order to save energy, demonstrating comprehension of complex heterospecific signals.[13]

File:Great Tit (Parus major) (W1CDR0001393 BD1).ogg
Song of a Great Tit.

Eavesdropping has been found in túngara frogs and their sympatric heterospecifics.[14] The scientists posit that mixed-species choruses may reduce their risk of predation without increasing mate competition.

In predation

Heterospecifics may benefit from information obtained from eavesdropping differently from the intended conspecific receivers, and signalers may modify their behavior to combat effective eavesdropping. Fringe-lipped bats hunt by eavesdropping on frog mating calls, using these acoustic signals both to identify suitable prey species such as túngara frogs and to locate individuals.[15] Because of this, male túngara frogs are known to produce less effective mating calls which are not preferred by fringe-lipped bats, but which are also not preferred by female túngara frogs.[16]

Development of interspecific eavesdropping

In 2000 it was found that age and interspecies experience were important factors in the ability for bonnet macaques to recognize heterospecific calls.[17] Macaques who were exposed longer to other species' alarm calls were more likely to correctly respond to heterospecific alarm calls. Key to this early learning was the reinforcement of a predatory threat, when an alarm call was given a corresponding threat had to be presented in order to make the association. Interspecies communication may not be an innate ability but rather a sort of imprinting coupled with an intense emotion (fear) early in life. Other species, such as the fringe-lipped bat, display social learning of new signals associated with prey in maturity.[18]

It is unusual for interspecies communication to be observed in an older animal taking care of a younger animal of a different species. For example, Owen and Mzee, the odd couple of an orphaned baby hippopotamus and a 130-year-old Aldabran tortoise, display this relationship rarely seen in the animal world. Dr. Kahumbu of the sanctuary that holds the two believes that the two vocalize to one another in neither a stereotypical tortoise nor a hippopotamus fashion.[19] Owen does not respond to hippopotamus calls. It is likely that when Owen was first introduced to Mzee he was still young enough to be imprinted.[citation needed]

Intentional signaling

Chemical signals in wolf urine are avoided by their prey[20]

Intentional signaling occurs when an organism of one species produces a signal whose intended recipient or recipients belong to another species.[2] This includes flowering plants’ uses of colors and scents to signal to pollinators that they contain nectar.[4] As with flowering plants and pollinators, signalling may be deceptive: some flowering plants such as slipper orchids signal that they contain nectar through color and scent, but provide no benefit to pollinators.[21][22]

Work by Gorissen, Gorissen, and Eens (2006) on song matching (or "song imitation") found that while great tits imitate the vocalizations of blue tits, other great tits do not respond to these imitations, suggesting they may use these imitations to signal to blue tits, rather than other great tits.[23]

Much of the communication between predators and prey can be defined as signaling. In some animals, the best way to avoid being preyed upon is an advertisement of danger or unpalatability, or aposematism. Given the effectiveness of this, it is no surprise that many animals employ styles of mimicry to ward off predators. Some predators also use aggressive mimicry as a hunting technique. For example, Photuris fireflies mimic female Photinus fireflies by scent and glow patterns in order to lure interested male Photinus fireflies, which they then kill and eat. Lophiiformes, or anglerfish, are also famous for their use of escas as bait for small unsuspecting fish.[24]

Two examples of predator–prey signaling were found in caterpillars and ground squirrels. When physically disturbed, Lepidoptera larvae produce a clicking noise with their mandibles followed by an unpalatable oral secretion.[25] Scientists believe this to be "acoustic aposematism" which has only been previously found in a controlled study with bats and tiger moths.[26] While the defense mechanisms of ground squirrels to predatory rattlesnakes have been well studied (i.e. tail flagging), only recently have scientists discovered that these squirrels also employ a type of infrared heat signaling.[27] By using robotic models of squirrels, the researchers found that when infrared radiation was added to tail flagging, rattlesnakes shifted from predatory to defensive behavior and were less likely to attack than when no radiation component was added.

Allomones

This section is an excerpt from Allomone[ edit ]

Kairomones

This section is an excerpt from Kairomones[ edit ]

Synomones

This section is an excerpt from Semiochemical § Synomone[ edit ]

Human-animal communication

Since the 1970s, primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has been working with primates at Georgia State University's Language Research Center (LRC), and more recently, the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary. In 1985, using lexigram symbols, a keyboard and monitor, and other computer technology, Savage-Rumbaugh began her groundbreaking work with Kanzi, a male bonobo (P. paniscus). Her research has made significant contributions to a growing body of work in sociobiology studying language learning in non-human primates and exploring the role of language and communication as an evolutionary mechanism.[citation needed]

Koko, a lowland gorilla, began learning a modified American Sign Language as an infant, when Francine "Penny" Patterson, PhD, started working with her in 1975. Penny and Koko worked together at the Gorilla Foundation in one of the longest interspecies communication studies ever conducted until Koko's death in 2018. It was claimed that Koko had a vocabulary of over 1000 signs, and understood a greater amount of spoken English.[28] However, scientific consensus is that Koko did not demonstrate a true understanding of language, due to a lack of regard for syntax or grammar.

In April 1998, Koko gave an AOL live chat. Sign language was used to relay to Koko questions from the online audience of 7,811 AOL members. The following is an excerpt from the live chat.[28]

AOL: MInyKitty asks Koko are you going to have a baby in the future?
PENNY: OK, is that for Koko? Koko are you going to have a baby in the future?
KOKO: Koko-love eat ... sip.
AOL: Me too!
PENNY: What about a baby? You going to have baby? She's just thinking...her hands are together...
KOKO: Unattention.
PENNY: Oh poor sweetheart. She said 'unattention.' She covered her face with her hands..which means it's not happening, basically, or it hasn't happened yet. . . I don't see it.
AOL: That's sad!
PENNY: It is responding to the question. In other words, she hasn't had one yet, and she doesn't see a future here. The way the situation is actually with Koko & Ndume, she has 2 males to 1 female which is the reverse of what she needs. I think that is why she said that, because in our current situation, it isn't possible for her to have a baby. She needs several females and one male to have a family.

Criticism

Social scientists and others have historically criticized research in interspecies communication, characterizing it as anthropomorphizing. This perspective has become less common in recent years. A 2013 TED Talk featured a proposal to construct an Interspecies Internet by presenters musician Peter Gabriel, Internet protocol co-inventor Vint Cerf, cognitive psychologist Diana Reiss, and director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms Neil Gershenfeld.[29][30] A follow-up workshop to review progress and plan future activities occurred in 2019 and was co-hosted by MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, Google, and the Jeremy Coller Foundation.[31] The ongoing efforts coalesced into a think-tank to accelerate understanding of interspecies communication. Workshops and public conferences were held in 2020 and 2021.[32][33][34]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Steingo, Gavin (2024). Interspecies Communication: Sound and Music beyond Humanity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-83136-7. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Westrip, James R. S.; Bell, Matthew B. V. (2015-03-30). Hauber, M. E.. ed. "Breaking down the Species Boundaries: Selective Pressures behind Interspecific Communication in Vertebrates" (in en). Ethology 121 (8): 725–732. doi:10.1111/eth.12379. ISSN 0179-1613. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eth.12379. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Magrath, Robert D.; Haff, Tonya M.; Igic, Branislav (2020), Aubin, Thierry; Mathevon, Nicolas, eds., "Interspecific Communication: Gaining Information from Heterospecific Alarm Calls" (in en), Coding Strategies in Vertebrate Acoustic Communication (Cham: Springer International Publishing): pp. 287–314, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39200-0_12, ISBN 978-3-030-39200-0, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39200-0_12, retrieved 2026-05-07 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Magrath, Robert D.; Haff, Tonya M.; Fallow, Pamela M.; Radford, Andrew N. (2014-06-11). "Eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls: from mechanisms to consequences" (in en). Biological Reviews 90 (2): 560–586. doi:10.1111/brv.12122. ISSN 1464-7931. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12122. 
  5. ↑ Goodale, Eben; Magrath, Robert D. (2024-01-27). "Species diversity and interspecific information flow" (in en). Biological Reviews 99 (3): 999–1014. doi:10.1111/brv.13055. ISSN 1464-7931. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.13055. 
  6. ↑ Zuberbuhler, K. (2000) Interspecies semantic communication in two forest primates. Proc R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci 267:713–718.
  7. ↑ Fichtel, C. (2004) Reciprocal recognition of sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi) and redfronted lemur (Eulemur fulvus rufus) alarm calls. Animal Cognition 7:45–52.
  8. ↑ Fallow, Pamela M.; Magrath, Robert D. (2010-02-01). "Eavesdropping on other species: mutual interspecific understanding of urgency information in avian alarm calls". Animal Behaviour 79 (2): 411–417. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.11.018. ISSN 0003-3472. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347209005235. 
  9. ↑ Shriner, W.M.K.E.E. (1998). "Yellow-bellied marmot and golden-mantled ground squirrel responses to heterospecific alarm calls". Animal Behaviour 55 (3): 529–536. doi:10.1006/anbe.1997.0623. PMID 9514669. 
  10. ↑ Vitousek, Maren N; Adelman, James S; Gregory, Nathan C; Clair, James J. H. St (2007-12-22). "Heterospecific alarm call recognition in a non-vocal reptile" (in en). Biology Letters 3 (6): 632–634. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0443. ISSN 1744-9561. PMID 17911047. PMC 2391237. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2007.0443. 
  11. ↑ Rainey, Hugo J.; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Slater, Peter J. B. (2004-04-07). "Hornbills can distinguish between primate alarm calls" (in en). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 271 (1540): 755–759. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2619. ISSN 0962-8452. PMID 15209110. PMC 1691652. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2003.2619. 
  12. ↑ Solomon, Christopher (18 May 2015). "When Birds Squawk, Other Species Seem to Listen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/science/decoding-the-cacophony-of-birds-warning-calls.html. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Templeton, C.N.; Greene, E. (2007). "Nuthatches eavesdrop on variations in heterospecific chickadee mobbing alarm calls". PNAS 104 (13): 5479–5482. doi:10.1073/pnas.0605183104. PMID 17372225. Bibcode: 2007PNAS..104.5479T. 
  14. ↑ Phelps, S.M.; Rand, A.S.; Ryan, M.J. (2007) The mixed-species chorus as public information: túngara frogs eavesdrop on a heterospecific. Behav. Ecol. 18:108–114.
  15. ↑ Tuttle, Merlin D.; Ryan, Michael J. (1981-11-06). "Bat Predation and the Evolution of Frog Vocalizations in the Neotropics" (in en). Science 214 (4521): 677–678. doi:10.1126/science.214.4521.677. ISSN 0036-8075. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.214.4521.677. 
  16. ↑ Tuttle, Merlin (2015) (in en). The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals. 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 92-111. ISBN 978-0-544-38227-5. 
  17. ↑ Ramakrishnan, U.; Coss, R. G. (2000). "Recognition of Heterospecific Alarm Vocalization by Bonnet Macaques (Macaca radiata)". Journal of Comparative Psychology 114 (1): 3–12. doi:10.1037/0735-7036.114.1.3. PMID 10739307. 
  18. ↑ Page, Rachel A.; Ryan, Michael J. (2006-06-20). "Social Transmission of Novel Foraging Behavior in Bats: Frog Calls and Their Referents" (in English). Current Biology 16 (12): 1201–1205. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.04.038. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 16782010. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(06)01499-0. 
  19. ↑ Owen & Mzee
  20. ↑ Osada, Kazumi; Kurihara, Kenzo; Izumi, Hiroshi; Kashiwayanagi, Makoto (2013-04-24). Bolhuis, Johan J.. ed. "Pyrazine Analogues Are Active Components of Wolf Urine That Induce Avoidance and Freezing Behaviours in Mice" (in en). PLOS ONE 8 (4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061753. ISSN 1932-6203. PMID 23637901. Bibcode: 2013PLoSO...861753O. 
  21. ↑ Jersáková, Jana; Johnson, Steven D.; Kindlmann, Pavel (2007-03-15). "Mechanisms and evolution of deceptive pollination in orchids" (in en). Biological Reviews 81 (2): 219–235. doi:10.1017/S1464793105006986. ISSN 1464-7931. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1017/S1464793105006986. 
  22. ↑ Pemberton, Robert W. (2013). "Pollination of Slipper Orchids (Cypripedioideae): a Review". Lankesteriana International Journal on Orchidology 13 (1-2): 65-73. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/443/44340043008.pdf. 
  23. ↑ Gorissen, L.; Gorissen, M.; Eens, M. (2006). "Heterospecific song matching in two closely related songbirds (Parus major and P. caeruleus): Great tits match blue tits but not vice versa". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60 (2): 260–269. doi:10.1007/s00265-006-0164-6. Bibcode: 2006BEcoS..60..260G. 
  24. ↑ Smith, William John (2009). The Behavior of Communicating: an ethological approach. Harvard University Press. p. 381. ISBN 978-0-674-04379-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=Zu2ML2rigZ4C&pg=PA381. "Others rely on the technique adopted by a wolf in sheep's clothing—they mimic a harmless species. ... Other predators even mimic their prey's prey: angler fish (Lophiiformes) and alligator snapping turtles Macroclemys temmincki can wriggle fleshy outgrowths of their fins or tongues and attract small predatory fish close to their mouths." 
  25. ↑ Brown, S.G.; Boettner, G.H.; Yack, J.E. (2007) Clicking caterpillars: acoustic aposematism in Antheraea polyphemus and other Bombycoidea. J Exp Biol 210:993–1005.
  26. ↑ Hristov, N. I.; Conner, W. E. (2005). "Sound strategy: acoustic aposematism in the bat–tiger moth arms race". Naturwissenschaften 92 (4): 164–169. doi:10.1007/s00114-005-0611-7. PMID 15772807. Bibcode: 2005NW.....92..164H. 
  27. ↑ Rundus, A.S.; Owings, D.H.; Joshi, S.S.; Chinn, E; Giannini, N. Ground squirrels use an infrared signal to deter rattlesnake predation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:14372-14376.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Koko's First Interspecies Web Chat: Transcript". http://www.koko.org/world/talk_aol.html. 
  29. ↑ Dolgin, Elie (2019-07-17). "The Internet Is Coming to the Rest of the Animal Kingdom" (in en). https://spectrum.ieee.org/internet-of-living-things-can-communication-tools-break-down-the-interspecies-divide. 
  30. ↑ Cerf, Diana Reiss, Peter Gabriel, Neil Gershenfeld and Vint (2013), "The interspecies internet? An idea in progress" (in en), TED, https://www.ted.com/talks/diana_reiss_peter_gabriel_neil_gershenfeld_and_vint_cerf_the_interspecies_internet_an_idea_in_progress, retrieved 2021-08-15 
  31. ↑ "Interspecies Internet Workshop". http://cba.mit.edu/events/19.07.I2I/. 
  32. ↑ "Conversations 2020 Public Conference" (in en-US). https://www.interspecies.io/conferences/conversations2020public. 
  33. ↑ "Conversations 2021" (in en-US). https://www.interspecies.io/conferences/conversations-2021. 
  34. ↑ "Interspecies Internet" (in en-US). https://www.interspecies.io/. 



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