Culturally determined interspecies communication between humans and honeyguides.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Spottiswoode CN; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.; FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Wood BM; Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.; Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Source
- Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 0404511 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-9203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00368075 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Science Subsets: MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Species interactions that vary across environments can create geographical mosaics of genetic coevolution. However, traits mediating species interactions are sometimes culturally inherited. Here we show that traditions of interspecies communication between people and wild birds vary in a culturally determined geographical mosaic. Honey hunters in different parts of Africa use different calls to communicate with greater honeyguides ( Indicator indicator ) that lead them to bees' nests. We show experimentally that honeyguides in Tanzania and Mozambique discriminate among honey hunters' calls, responding more readily to local than to foreign calls. This was not explained by variation in sound transmission and instead suggests that honeyguides learn local human signals. We discuss the forces stabilizing and diversifying interspecies communication traditions, and the potential for cultural coevolution between species.