Alarm Calls
Organizations need alarm systems that detect threats early, communicate them unambiguously, and trigger coordinated responses faster than threats can spread.
The cost of false positives is low; the cost of false negatives is death. Systems tolerate false positives to avoid false negatives.
Alarm calls are rapid, unambiguous signals of imminent threats that trigger immediate coordinated responses across populations. They exploit a fundamental asymmetry in threat assessment: the cost of false positives (fleeing when no predator is present) is low, while the cost of false negatives (ignoring an alarm when a predator is present) is death. This asymmetry favors hair-trigger responses.
Alarm calls have stereotyped acoustic structure optimized for rapid detection: short (50-200ms), high-frequency (2,000-10,000 Hz), broadband bursts that are easy to detect, hard to localize, and distinctive. They are repeated rapidly (5-10 calls/second) for redundancy, with call rate indicating urgency level.
Evolutionary mechanisms maintaining alarm calling include: kin selection (protecting relatives who share genes), selfish herd effect (creating protective stampede), predator deterrence (signaling 'I see you, give up'), reciprocal altruism (reputation building), and strategic manipulation (rare dishonest calls).
Business Application of Alarm Calls
Organizations need alarm systems that detect threats early, communicate them unambiguously, and trigger coordinated responses faster than threats can spread. Like gazelle alarm calls, organizational alarms must balance sensitivity (detect genuine threats) with specificity (minimize false positives) to avoid alarm fatigue.