Call combinations and compositional processing in wild chimpanzees.

Through syntax, i.e., the combination of words into larger phrases, language can express a limitless number of messages.

Chimpanzees communicate to coordinate a cultural practice.

Human culture thrives by virtue of communication, yet whether communication plays an influential role in the cultural lives of other animals remains understudied. Here, we investigated whether chimpanzees use communication to engage in a cultural practice by analysing grooming handclasp (GHC) interactions-a socio-cultural behaviour requiring interindividual coordination for successful execution. Previous accounts attributed GHC initiations to behavioural shaping, whereby the initiator physically moulds the partner's arm into the desired GHC posture.

Intentional gestural communication amongst red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus).

Apes, human's closest living relatives, are renowned for their intentional and highly flexible use of gestural communication. In stark contrast, evidence for flexible and intentional gestural communication in monkeys is scarce. Here, we investigated the intentionality and flexibility of spontaneous gesture use in red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus).

Classification and automatic transcription of primate calls.

This paper reports on an automated and openly available tool for automatic acoustic analysis and transcription of primate calls, which takes raw field recordings and outputs call labels time-aligned with the audio. The system's output predicts a majority of the start times of calls accurately within 200 milliseconds. The tools do not require any manual acoustic analysis or selection of spectral features by the researcher.

Reply to Fischer et al.

We welcome the correspondence from Fischer and colleagues regarding our recent paper on vocal learning in chimpanzee food grunts [1]. Fischer et al. make two challenges to our paper's conclusions, which we address here.