In the journal Animal Behaviour, an article has been published that explores communication between animals of different species. An international team of 57 researchers analyzed the mechanisms that enable members of distinct species to understand one another. This form of cooperation is considered one of the most remarkable phenomena in behavioral biology.
Project leader Katie Dunkley (BBSRC) coordinated the work of 57 co-authors from various scientific disciplines. All focused on how animals coordinate joint actions during communication.
The article was based on an interdisciplinary workshop on cross-species cooperation, held in Cambridge in June 2023. Participants included researchers, ecologists, and practitioners studying this phenomenon across a wide range of species. During the sessions, the group investigated how signals and cues—whether visual, auditory, or behavioral—help align the interests of vastly different organisms, allowing cooperative relationships to emerge and persist over long periods.
“It was a genuine pleasure to work and learn from such a diverse group of people studying animal cooperation at different stages of their careers as part of this review,” Dunkley noted. She added that each participant brought a unique perspective and expertise, helping to connect ideas from various fields. She considers this experience invaluable.
Dunkley’s own research focuses on the interactions of cleaner fish. These small “cleaner” fish feed on parasites found on the bodies of much larger “client” fish. This relationship benefits both sides: clients improve their health, while cleaners obtain nourishment. However, cooperation only works if both parties adhere to the rules, as cleaners might exploit the situation and harm clients by biting off pieces of their scales.
Dunkley’s work aims to study the signals that sustain these relationships—from the initiation of contact to the coordination of partners’ actions and the prevention of conflicts. She emphasizes that investigating how information is transmitted between species provides a powerful tool for understanding the emergence of communication systems, their changes, and, at times, their co-evolution. Notably, similar cleaning associations exist on land as well—for instance, between oxpecker birds and buffalo.
Another co-author is Eliupendo Laltayka, an ecologist and PhD student working on a project studying honeyguides in Tanzania. His research focuses on cooperation between indicator birds and honey hunters in Tanzania. Laltayka mentioned that he had just returned from the field, where he interviewed hunters from different cultures and recorded the specific calls they use to communicate with the birds.
This bond between humans and birds, common in several African regions, is built on a complex exchange of signals. Honeyguides use a distinctive call to attract human partners and lead them to beehives, while humans respond with culture-specific calls that the birds apparently recognize and learn.
In other parts of Africa, interspecies cooperation manifests in different ways. In some populations, common warthogs adopt specific postures—such as kneeling and lying down—to allow banded mongooses to remove ticks from them. The mongooses, in turn, benefit from this food source.
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