The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication
Spotted hyenas live in fission–fusion social societies, requiring them to adopt a flexible multimodal communication system across variable spatial scales. However, researchers have extensively studied acoustic and olfactory signals for conspecific communication compared to visual signals, especially...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| author | Andrew J. Laurita Stephanie A. Poindexter |
| author_facet | Andrew J. Laurita Stephanie A. Poindexter |
| author_sort | Andrew J. Laurita |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Spotted hyenas live in fission–fusion social societies, requiring them to adopt a flexible multimodal communication system across variable spatial scales. However, researchers have extensively studied acoustic and olfactory signals for conspecific communication compared to visual signals, especially in wild populations. Here, we reviewed 46 articles on the Web of Science on social communication in wild and captive spotted hyena populations to synthesize our collective knowledge of the extent to which spotted hyenas utilize sensory cues to communicate and how flexible they are between captive and wild populations. Across all articles, 54% focused on acoustic communication (<i>n</i> = 25), 33% on olfaction (<i>n</i> = 15), leaving only 13% on vision (<i>n</i> = 6). Most of this research studied wild populations (82%; <i>n</i> = 38), leaving an intriguing gap in our knowledge of captive populations and their potential for developing behavioral innovations due to their robust social cognition (i.e., modifying behavioral form and/or function observed in wild populations to better accommodate the captive performer’s environment and social needs). Improving our understanding of innovation development in this species has possible benefits for studying behavioral evolution and improving captive welfare (e.g., identifying normal vs. stereotypic behavior) in this social carnivore. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c43853e70d9646e98b755bc638d64aed2025-08-20T03:14:45ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-05-011510136610.3390/ani15101366The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) CommunicationAndrew J. Laurita0Stephanie A. Poindexter1Environment and Sustainability Department, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14068, USAEnvironment and Sustainability Department, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14068, USASpotted hyenas live in fission–fusion social societies, requiring them to adopt a flexible multimodal communication system across variable spatial scales. However, researchers have extensively studied acoustic and olfactory signals for conspecific communication compared to visual signals, especially in wild populations. Here, we reviewed 46 articles on the Web of Science on social communication in wild and captive spotted hyena populations to synthesize our collective knowledge of the extent to which spotted hyenas utilize sensory cues to communicate and how flexible they are between captive and wild populations. Across all articles, 54% focused on acoustic communication (<i>n</i> = 25), 33% on olfaction (<i>n</i> = 15), leaving only 13% on vision (<i>n</i> = 6). Most of this research studied wild populations (82%; <i>n</i> = 38), leaving an intriguing gap in our knowledge of captive populations and their potential for developing behavioral innovations due to their robust social cognition (i.e., modifying behavioral form and/or function observed in wild populations to better accommodate the captive performer’s environment and social needs). Improving our understanding of innovation development in this species has possible benefits for studying behavioral evolution and improving captive welfare (e.g., identifying normal vs. stereotypic behavior) in this social carnivore.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/10/1366spotted hyenagestural communicationbehavioral innovationfission–fusion social societiesvisual communication |
| spellingShingle | Andrew J. Laurita Stephanie A. Poindexter The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication Animals spotted hyena gestural communication behavioral innovation fission–fusion social societies visual communication |
| title | The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication |
| title_full | The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication |
| title_fullStr | The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication |
| title_short | The Complementary Role of Gestures in Spotted Hyena (<i>Crocuta crocuta</i>) Communication |
| title_sort | complementary role of gestures in spotted hyena i crocuta crocuta i communication |
| topic | spotted hyena gestural communication behavioral innovation fission–fusion social societies visual communication |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/10/1366 |
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