Demonstratives are among the most frequent words in all languages, but demonstrative systems vary considerably between languages. In two experiments, we tested demonstrative use and the influence of demonstratives on spatial memory in Japanese and English – languages with purportedly very different demonstrative systems. Participants engaged in a ‘memory game’, tapping their use of demonstrativ...

Female Xiphophorus cortezi responded to olfactory cues from both conspecific males and heterospecific X. nigrensisX. montezumae males when given a choice between the stimulus and water. When given a choice between the conspecific and heterospecific cues, however, females demonstrated a strong preference for the conspecific stimulus. Of the two heterospecific species, females responded more stro...

In an experimental laboratory study with the megalopa stage of Armases roberti, a freshwaterinhabiting species of crab from the Caribbean region, we evaluated the combined, potentially antagonistic effects of odours from conspecific adults and of stepwise salinity reductions (simulating upstream migration, reaching within 1 week conditions of 2ø or freshwater). Neither of these treatments affec...

The jump-yip display of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) is contagious, spreading through a prairie dog town as 'the wave' through a stadium. Because contagious communication in primates serves to assess conspecific social awareness, we investigated whether instigators of jump-yip bouts adjusted their behaviour relative to the response of conspecifics recruited to display bouts....

Humans excel at assessing conspecific emotional valence and intensity, based solely on non-verbal vocal bursts that are also common in other mammals. It is not known, however, whether human listeners rely on similar acoustic cues to assess emotional content in conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations, and which acoustical parameters affect their performance. Here, for the first time, we dir...

Chemical communication relating to predation risk is a trait common among fish species. Prey fish under threat of predation can signal risk to conspecific fish, which then exhibit defensive responses. Fish also assess predation risk by visual cues and change their behavior accordingly. Here, we explored whether these behavioral changes act as visual alarm signals to conspecific fish that are no...

We examine acoustic mating preferences of a focal population at four different scales of divergence: within the population, between populations in the same genetic group, between populations in different genetic groups and between different species. At all scales there is substantial genetic divergence, variation in mating signals and preferences are influenced by signal variation. There is, ho...