Embedded Files
Meerkats on the move
Meerkats on the move
Photo by Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin
Calls play a key role in the coordination of movement in many social species. By varying the calls they produce, individuals in groups may flexibly, dynamically, and even strategically shape their interactions with others. How does such signaling behavior affect the dynamics of collective movement?
Meerkats live in stable social groups that travel long distances each day while foraging. Calls are key to coordination: meerkats produce many different call types to help them stay together, coordinate travel, and respond to threats.
We monitor the movements, calls, and behaviors of entire groups of meerkats using multi-sensor collars to reveal how individuals make decisions, and how these decisions scale up to produce coordinated behaviors.
Our meerkat research is in collaboration with co-PI Marta Manser and the Kalahari Meerkat Project long-term study.
Combining movement and vocalizations
Combining movement and vocalizations
Collar data allows us to map the vocalizations and movements of all group members simultaneously. Here, colored dots show the locations of meerkats as they move around foraging, with markers popping up when they give calls (different markers represent different call types).
Collective decisions on the move
Collective decisions on the move
Averly et al. 2022
How do groups decide when and where to move? Who has control over these decisions?
We developed a method for inferring each individual's influence over group decision-making, in terms of both the speed and direction of movement.
Our results show that individuals vary in influence, and that group's dominant female tends to wield outsized influence over both when and where groups travel.
Influence can also be modulated by vocal communication -- for instance when individuals give specific move calls their influence momentarily increases.
Individuals also show differences in where they position themselves in the group - with consequences for their foraging success.
Vocal interactions
Vocal interactions
Meerkat communication goes beyond simple call and response - it is a continuous exchange of signals that unfolds and evolves over space and time. Using our data, we are seeking to decode the structure and function of vocal interactions in these social groups.
Our work so far shows that meerkats avoid interrupting one another's sunning calls, short calls they produce while standing outside their burrows on cold mornings. In other words, they take turns. An individual's calls also stimulate calling from its group mates, resulting in extended vocal exchanges.
Demartsev et al. 2018
Demartsev et al. 2024
During foraging, meerkat vocal interactions can show multiple patterns. For instance, close calls associated with maintaining group cohesion tend to be given in call-response "signal exchanges" with nearby group members. In contrast, short note calls, which are used in multiple contexts, are primarily produced in sequences by single individuals - a "signal broadcast".
Demartsev et al. 2024
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse