Alarm calling in Alpine marmot (Marmota marmota L.): evidence for semantic communication

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Abstract
In a field study conducted in the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso, Valle d'Aosta, Italy, acoustic signals were categorized as follows: single whistle (SW), a loud cry that was not repeated, and multiple whistle, a series of whistles which could be uttered in brief (BMW) or in numerous long lasting bouts (LMW). In 438 hr of direct observations I demonstrated that: (1) single whistles were associated significantly with flying stimuli and multiple whistles with terrestrial stimuli; (2) the signals interrupted the foraging behaviour of 22 individually recognized adults; BMW seemed more disturbing than SW when coming from the same or near colony and less alarming when coming from a distant colony. Evidence for true semanticity and honest advertisement is discussed.