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Alarm Calls

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Synonyms

Alarm signal; Alarm vocalization; Antipredator call; Antipredator signal

Definition

A loud sound emitted during any stage of a predator/prey interaction.

Introduction

Predation is one of the largest contributors to natural mortality for all animals, and the persistent threat of predation thus exerts a major influence on behavior in many species. Different species respond to predatory threats in different ways. Some species adopt cryptic strategies to reduce detection by predators, whereas others focus on strategies to better detect the predators themselves and then either elude or confront them. One of the most common behavioral responses to predators involves the production of loud, conspicuous vocalizations, or alarm calls by prey species. Such calls are produced by many species of mammals and birds when they encounter predators and they can function to alert conspecifics to the danger and prompt appropriate escape responses in them that improves their survival (Sherman 1980...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Shannon M. Digweed

Authors
  1. Shannon M. Digweed
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Correspondence to Shannon M. Digweed .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Shannon Digweed

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Digweed, S.M. (2019). Alarm Calls. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1632-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1632-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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