Abstract
Gibbons are characterized by their species-specific calls, or songs. There are few studies of songs of Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus). To study the sound spectrum characteristics and test for intergroup differences in Hainan gibbon song, we studied the singing behavior of Hainan gibbons in Bawangling National Nature Reserve, Hainan Province, China, intermittently from August 2002 to February 2013, collecting 184 recordings. Our results show that: 1) Hainan gibbon song bouts occur mainly 0–4 h after dawn. 2) The songs of adult males living in groups are composed mainly of one to three short notes and one to five long notes, while solitary adult male songs consist only of long frequency modulated notes and no short or single notes. 3) The song chorus is dominated by adult males, while females add a great call. Males do not have a great call, unlike those in other gibbon species. There are no female solos. 4) The sound spectrum frequency is similar in adult males living in two different groups, but the duration of the first long note differed significantly between the groups. The sonic frequencies of male and female songs are lower than those of other gibbons: no more than 2 kHz. Hainan gibbon sound structure is simple, although females participate in the chorus, reflecting their primitive status among gibbon species.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by a 2011 grant from the National Nature Science Funds to the project “The nutrition and ecologic strategy of Hainan gibbons” (No. 31170365). This research was conducted with the help of students Xiaofeng Gao, Yun Liu, and Wenyong Li, and other staff of the Bawangling Nature Reserve. We thank them for their support. We also thank the reviewers and editors for their constructive and positive comments.
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Deng, H., Zhou, J. & Yang, Y. Sound Spectrum Characteristics of Songs of Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus hainanus). Int J Primatol 35, 547–556 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-014-9767-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-014-9767-3