Visual Displays for Communication in Cetaceans

摘要: Social mammals use facial signals and body postures, often highlighted by coloration, for well-developed visual communication. African forest monkeys (Cercopithecus sp.), example, display an impressive repertoire of stereotyped head movements expressions courtship, aggression, fear, appeasement (Kingdon, 1980). Thomson’s gazelles (Gazella thornsoni) rapidly alert conspecifics to danger a tense, upright stance, directed gaze, twitching their edge-receptive flank, which is marked with eye-catching black longitudinal stripe (Estes, 1967; Walther, 1969). This sequence subtle produces “Morse code” information about the potential threat approaching predator. To untrained observer only obvious alarm warnings, such as running stotting (a stiff-legged, bounding gait), are appreciable (Caro, 1988). It recently has been found that some mammalian species different warning predators (Seyfarth et al., 1980; Sherman, 1985), this extra sophistication beyond mere communication probably widespread among animals.