AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Alarm calls: used to warn the group of an incoming predator. Depending on the type of predator (aerial vs. terrestrial) and the level of urgency, the call structure and the group response will vary. Contact calls: used at regular intervals while meerkats are foraging.

Detailed explanation-2: -Like with primates, vocal communication is vital for meerkats. They coordinate their activities with calls, such as to warn other group members of approaching predators, for instance, and thus stick together as a group.

Detailed explanation-3: -Meerkats are very social animals that usually live in related groups (or mobs). They all have different jobs to perform: digging tunnels, searching for food, looking out for danger. If a meerkat senses danger, it will bark to alert the others. The mob will scatter to their tunnels for safety.

Detailed explanation-4: -They chatter when they’re nervous, and they squeal when danger presents itself. Meerkats also use sounds to coordinate their hunting efforts. When the dominant female and male wake up and decide it’s time to forage for food, one or both will emit a call for the rest of the gang to follow them [source: Roberts].