Vocal convergence in a multi-level primate society: insights into the evolution of vocal learning

Research on Guinea baboons (Papio papio) in Niokolo-Koba National Park reveals that vocal convergence—where males within the same social groups produce more acoustically similar grunts—is driven by increased social interactions rather than genetic relatedness. This implicit form of vocal learning, observed across multi-level societies with nested units and gangs, suggests a shared sensory-motor integration mechanism between these primates and humans, distinct from the explicit, goal-directed vocal learning unique to human speech. The study analyzed 351 dyads within and between gangs and 169 dyads within and between parties, finding small but significant effects of social structure on grunt similarity, which did not correlate with genetic relatedness.

Fischer, J., Wegdell, F., Trede, F., Dal Pesco, F., & Hammerschmidt, K. (2020). Vocal convergence in a multi-level primate society: insights into the evolution of vocal learning. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1941), 20202531. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2531