A signal convention in natural chimpanzee communication.

Chimpanzee unvoiced calls show signal-convention behavior: groups with adult role models use one dominant context stably over years and from 1–2-year-olds.

• Why it matters: It is unclear whether nonhuman animals use meaning-based communicative conventions; this tests whether chimpanzee call usage is socially transmitted and stable.
• What they did: In a quasi-experimental design, audio and context were collected from 91 chimpanzees (0–55 y) across eight wild and captive groups differing in adult role models.
• The result: Role-model groups emitted UCs in a dominant context that stayed stable over years and from first utterances, while groups without role models showed variable, unstable context use not explained by age or shared emotional valence.

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