Summary: Townsend et al. (2010)

Animal vocalisations vary both between individuals and social and behavioural contexts. They also have the potential to differ between groups. Stereotyped group-specific calls, otherwise known as group signatures, may play a role in territory defence or mate choice (called "contact calls"). Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) use close calls to maintain social organisation when foraging, however it is not known whether these call types possess group-specific signatures and whether the information in the calls can be perceived by receivers. Townsend et al. (2010) investigated various questions relating to the close calls produced by meerkats, what the adaptive function of these calls was and whether the information within the calls is perceived by receivers. They found that close calls can be distinguished on the basis of identity and do represent group signatures. However, while the information in these calls codes for group identity, it does not seem to be perceived by receivers, most likely because meerkats use other sensory systems for individual identification of non-group members.