Social mingling shapes and transforms the ‘vocabularies’ of apes, just like in humans, according to new research led by the University of Warwick.
In a paper published by Nature Ecology and Evolution, researchers have proved that wild orangutans demonstrate distinct ‘vocal personalities’ that are moulded depending on the social groups in which individuals live and communicate — as opposed to a fixed repertoire of instinctive, automated calls as traditionally presumed.
This breakthrough, led by Dr Adriano R. Lameira from Warwick’s Department of Psychology, further establishes a direct developmental vocal continuum between us and our evolutionary ancestors.
Living alongside orangutan communities in the swamps and low rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia, Dr Lameira and his research team recorded the calls
— source University of Warwick | Mar 21, 2022