PASEKA, A.D.*; SLOBODCHIKOFF, C.N.; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Northern Arizona University: Discrimination of Color by Gunnison�s Prairie Dogs in Alarm Calls

Gunnison�s prairie dogs, Cynomys gunnisoni, can identify and incorporate information about physical features of individual humans into their alarm calls. Previous work has shown that humans, each wearing a separate color, elicit different alarm calls. In the present study, three females walked through a prairie dog colony, each taking turns wearing the same yellow, green, and blue shirts. Ten calls were recorded for each person/color combination, resulting in 90 calls that were recorded from individual prairie dogs. Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) showed that the prairie dogs incorporated different time and frequency elements into their calls for the different shirt colors. The DFA generated classification functions that could significantly discriminate between calls elicited by yellow and blue and blue and green shirts, but not between calls elicited by green and yellow shirts.