Meeting Abstract

P2.105  Friday, Jan. 4  Size and shape information encoded in alarm calls of the Gunnison�s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) SLOBODCHIKOFF, C.N.*; BRIGGS, W.R.; DENNIS, P.; HODGE*, A.M.C.*; Northern Arizona University; Northern Arizona University; Northern Arizona University; Auburn University hodgeac@auburn.edu

The Gunnison�s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) has been the subject of extensive research on communication and alarm calls. This species has been shown to transmit information identifying the category to which an approaching predator belongs. These alarm calls also encode information about physical traits of an individual predator within a specific category. In the present study, field experiments were conducted on a large colony of C. gunnisoni near Flagstaff, Arizona, to test the hypothesis that acoustic components of prairie dog alarm calls correlate to differences in size and shape of experimental stimuli. Prairie dogs were exposed to simulated predators, and acoustical analyses were performed to detect call components corresponding to different categories of physical characteristics. Here we present evidence supporting the hypothesis that prairie dogs are capable of producing alarm calls which encode information about a simulated predator’s relative size and shape.