The scientists focused on female macaques because they are the main coo callers. The monkeys usually produce these sounds in relaxed situations, such as when feeding, grooming, or resting.
Since it's possible that calls vary acoustically during different types of behavior, researchers only analyzed vocalizations produced by the monkeys when feeding.
The result showed that the Yakushima monkeys had a tone about 110 hertz higher, on average, than the Mount Ohira group.
Vocal Flexibility
The difference is probably linked to the monkeys' habitats. The island group lives in an evergreen forest with high trees that tend to block sound. The Ohira monkeys reside in an open, gravelly range with little vegetation.
"Higher sound is likely to transmit more effectively in the forest than lower sound," Masataka explained.
Until now, monkeys and apes were thought to be poor vocal imitators, said Frans de Waal, director of the Living Links Center at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Humans were considered to be the only primates able to mimic each other's vocalizations, such as when learning how to pronounce new words.
"This exciting new study suggests that monkeys from the same genetic stock may, in a couple of decades, develop different call features," de Waal said.
"It shows greater vocal flexibility than assumed for primates before—perhaps even cultural variation, such as in human dialects."
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