Kershenbaum, ArikRoot-Gutteridge, HollyHabib, BilalKoler-Matznick, JaniceMitchell, BrianPalacios, VicenteWaller, Sara2016-05-032016-05-032016-03Kershenbaum, Arik , Holly Root-Gutteridge, Bilal Habib, Janice Koler-Matznick, Brian Mitchell, Vicente Palacios, and Sara Waller. "Disentangling canid howls across multiple species and subspecies: Structure in a complex communication channel." Behavioural Processes 124 (March 2016): 149-157. DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2016.01.006.0376-6357https://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/9738Wolves, coyotes, and other canids are members of a diverse genus of top predators of considerable conservation and management interest. Canid howls are long-range communication signals, used both for territorial defence and group cohesion. Previous studies have shown that howls can encode individual and group identity. However, no comprehensive study has investigated the nature of variation in canid howls across the wide range of species. We analysed a database of over 2000 howls recorded from 13 different canid species and subspecies. We applied a quantitative similarity measure to compare the modulation pattern in howls from different populations, and then applied an unsupervised clustering algorithm to group the howls into natural units of distinct howl types. We found that different species and subspecies showed markedly different use of howl types, indicating that howl modulation is not arbitrary, but can be used to distinguish one population from another. We give an example of the conservation importance of these findings by comparing the howls of the critically endangered red wolves to those of sympatric coyotes Canis latrans, with whom red wolves may hybridise, potentially compromising reintroduced red wolf populations. We believe that quantitative cross-species comparisons such as these can provide important understanding of the nature and use of communication in socially cooperative species, as well as support conservation and management of wolf populations.CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/legalcodeArticle