Pup ultrasonic isolation calls of six gerbil species and the relationship between acoustic traits and body size

Author:

Kozhevnikova Julia D.1,Volodin Ilya A.12ORCID,Zaytseva Alexandra S.13,Ilchenko Olga G.3,Volodina Elena V.2

Affiliation:

1. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia

2. Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia

3. Department of Small Mammals, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia

Abstract

Among Gerbillinae rodents, ultrasonic calls of adults of small-sized species are typically higher frequency than those of adults of large-sized species. This study investigates whether a similar relationship can be found in pups of six gerbil species ( Dipodillus campestris , Gerbillus perpallidus , Meriones unguiculatus , Meriones vinogradovi , Sekeetamys calurus and Pachyuromys duprasi ). We compared the average values of acoustic variables (duration, fundamental and peak frequency) of ultrasonic calls (20 calls per pup, 1200 in total) recorded from 6- to 10-day-old pups (10 pups per species, 60 in total) isolated for 2 min at 22°C and then weighed and measured for body variables. The longest calls (56 ± 33 ms) were found in the largest species, and the highest frequency calls (74.8 ± 5.59 kHz) were found in the smallest species. However, across species, call duration (ranging from 56 to 159 ms among species) did not display a significant relationship with pup body size; and, among frequency variables, only the minimum fundamental frequency depended on pup body size. Discriminant analysis assigned 100% of calls to the correct species. The effect of species identity on the acoustics was stronger than the effect of body size. We discuss these results with the hypotheses of acoustic adaptation, social complexity, hearing ranges and phylogeny.

Funder

Russian Science Foundation

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

Multidisciplinary

Reference125 articles.

1. Agren G. 1986 Gerbils. In All the world's animals. Vol. 5. Rodents (ed. P Forbes), pp. 90-93. New York, NY: Torstar Books.

2. Pavlinov IJ, Dubrovsky YA, Rossolimo OL, Potapova EG. 1990 Gerbils of the world. Moscow, Russia: Nauka [in Russian].

3. Maternal behaviour and neonatal development in three species of Namib Desert rodents

4. Behaviour Associated with Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Six Gerbilline Rodent Species

5. A Comparative Study of the Behaviour of Six Taxa of Male and Female Gerbils (Rodentia) in Intra- and Interspecific Encounters

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3