Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

Evidence for conceptual semantics is well established in monkeys, however this basis of human language is less evident in the great apes. In order to study semantic communications in chimpanzees, I analyzed alarm calls produced towards a blimp as it was flying overhead. I then replayed a set of these alarm calls to the chimps on a different day. The chimps appeared to act in a manner consistent with the presence of the blimp. The calls they produced in response to the playback stimuli were nearly identical to the calls that were produced during the actual flyover. Though the data collected were not sufficient to support a definitive claim, it does appear that the chimpanzees of the study have a meaning-laden vocalization for the aerial stimuli. Whether this call is specific to the blimp or generalizable to other aerial threats is yet to be determined.

Extent

viii, 41 p. : ill.

Comments

by Alyssa M. Raymond.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Alyssa M. Raymond.

Identifier

FADT3352278

Format

pdf

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