1. Receiver bias and the acoustic ecology of aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis).
- Author
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Ramsier, Marissa A. and Dominy, Nathaniel J.
- Subjects
- *
DAUBENTONIA , *FORAGING behavior , *LEMUR (Genus) , *AYE-aye (Animal) - Abstract
The aye-aye is a rare lemur from Madagascar that uses its highly specialized middle digit for percussive foraging. This acoustic behavior, also termed tap-scanning, produces dominant frequencies between 6 and 15 kHz. An enhanced auditory sensitivity to these frequencies raises the possibility that the acoustic and auditory specializations of aye-ayes have imposed constraints on the evolution of their vocal signals, especially their primary long-distance vocalization the screech. Here we explore this concept termed receiver bias, and suggest that the dominant frequency of the screech call (~2.7 kHz) represents an evolutionary compromise between the opposing adaptive advantages of long-distance sound propagation and enhanced detection by conspecific receivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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