Scientists find Amazon rainforest hosts interspecies alarm call communication network
Technology
Scientists just found that the Amazon rainforest has a real-life internet for animals.
Birds and monkeys use a network of alarm calls to warn other species, with birds acting as primary messengers that monkeys eavesdrop on, about predators such as hawks, with these messages spreading quickly across species to keep everyone alert.
Black-fronted and white-fronted nunbirds amplify alarms
Small birds, especially black-fronted and white-fronted nunbirds, play a huge part by picking up and boosting these warning signals so they reach even more animals.
Researchers figured this out by using trained raptors in Peru to trigger natural alarm calls and then recorded how those calls traveled.
This acoustic highway helps both birds and monkeys stay safe.