One of our alert readers sent a link to a study done by Kathryn Lord of U. Massachusetts on the "meaning" of barks in a variety of species. The link is to a newspaper article written about the study, complete with comments (mostly irate) about the findings of the work. But the study (which I of course don't think is a waste of money, contrary to some of the negative comments) brings up some very interesting questions that researchers in animal behavior have been thinking about for decades. The over riding question is this: what, exactly, is the message of vocal communication? Take any species, and ask yourself: is the bark, the growl or the song of a particular animal an expression of the animal's internal state (expressing fear, or affiliation, or emotions that could lead to aggression) Read More
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