GOLDEN-MARMOT ALARM CALLS .1. THE PRODUCTION OF SITUATIONALLY SPECIFIC VOCALIZATIONS

Many species of animals produce alarm calls that vary according to the situation. There are at lease three different ways to communicate var iation in situation: 1. Produce acoustically different call types; 2. Vary the rate or number of times that a single call type is produced; and/or 3. Vary the overall intensity in a single call. Combinations of these three mechanisms are also possible. I studied the production of alarm calls in free-living golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea). Ma rmots emitted alarm calls when they encountered predators and startlin g stimuli. In the field these calls did not appear associated with pre dator type, but, rather, varied according to the degree of risk the ca ller perceived when it vocalized. Marmots produced calls with fewer no tes when in higher risk situations, and calls with more notes when in lower risk situations. Thus, by varying the number of repeated notes i n a single call type, marmots produced situationally specific alarm vo calizations.