Communication is an intrinsic characteristic of living beings. Each animal
communicates with others of its own or of other species in the characteristic forms of their
respective groups. In social interactions individuals produce communicative signals that
specify or predict likely behavioral changes in other individuals, whose responses, in turn,
also generate likely behavioral changes in the former. Vocalization is an important element
in animal communication and the investigation of its functions can constitute a
comparative model for understanding the evolution of human communication. This study
aimed to identify symbolic phenomena of communication between capuchin-monkeys
(Sapajus sp.) in social interactions. Activities and social interactions in defined periods
throughout the day were observed through the methods of scan sample and ad libitum.
Vocalizations emitted in spontaneous occurrences (agonistic, alarm and feeding) and in
planned experiments (alarm production) were recorded and described. Recordings of the
vocalizations were presented to the individuals, and the behavioral responses were
recorded and described. The behavior observed in captivity, compared to records in nature,
presents alterations as a restricted diversity of social interactions, for example. In the vocal
repertoire we identified different vocalizations related to specific behaviors, appropriate to
the context. Our results are in agreement with indications of brain plasticity and social
complexity of the Sapajus genus.
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