[Campbell Biology P.1197] What is a key difference in alarm call behavior between infant and ... | Practice Question

What is a key difference in alarm call behavior between infant and adult vervet monkeys, as described in the text?

  • A: Infants give more accurate alarm calls than adults.
  • B: Adults primarily learn new alarm calls from infants.
  • C: Infants give alarm calls indiscriminately for various birds, while adults give specific eagle alarms only for actual predatory eagles.
  • D: Adult vervets lose their unlearned tendency to give calls, relying solely on social learning.

Explanation

The text clearly states that infant vervet monkeys give the 'eagle' alarm indiscriminately for any bird, including harmless ones, while adult vervets only give this alarm for the two specific species of eagles that prey on them. This illustrates the refinement of learned behavior.