Bluish-slate Antshrike
Thamnomanes schistogynus

​Predator information networks exist across prey species where they share predators, but to what extent does predator-specific vulnerability determine which alarm signals are valued across species?

Antshrikes and Primates live in shared habitats in neotropical forests. Both of these species are hunted by similar predators and both species produce alarms to warn conspecifics of threats.
Sadde-backed Tamarin
Saguinus fuscicollis
We elicited alarm calls of primate troops (Saddle-backed Tamarins) and flocking bird species (Bluish-slate Antshrike) by exposing them to a trained Bi-colored Hawk (shared predator) and then used the alarm calls in a reciprocal playback experiment. 
Figure 1 Composite image illustrating the way we captured the alarms used in the experiments. The falconer (bottom left) released a trained raptor near the alarming species. The researcher (bottom, right) records the alarms using a parabola microphone. In this case, the alarming species are in the large tree in the top left. These recordings were used for the playback trials. The trained raptor (Falco femoralis) can be seen in hand, in flight, and returning to land near the recording researcher.
Picture
​Figure 2. Illustration of potential predator guild overlap between Antshrikes and Saddle-back Tamarins. Antshrike predators are indicated by the blue field, while tamarin predators are indicated by the gold field. Shared predators (of both antshrikes and tamarins) are indicated by the green field, Illustration provided by Micah Riegner.
​Tamarins responded significantly to antshrike alarms and vice versa. We conclude that signals are highly valued even across broad taxa when predators are shared. These data support the hypothesis that overlap in shared predators can drive the mutual recognition and use of alarm calls across widely distinct taxonomic groups.