Variation in responses to conspecific and heterospecific advertisement vocalizations in sympatric grasshopper mice (Onychomys)

Author:

Griffiths Grace C.12,Pasch Bret13

Affiliation:

1. Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University 1 , Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA

2. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 2 , Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, USA

3. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona 3 , Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

Abstract

Advertisement vocalizations that function in mate acquisition and resource defense within species may also mediate behavioral interactions among species. While olfactory signals play an important role in mate choice and territoriality in rodents, less is known about the function of acoustic signals in influencing interspecific interactions. In this study, we used playback experiments in the laboratory to assess the function of long-distance vocalizations within and among three sympatric species of grasshopper mice. We found that, within each species, individuals of both sexes varied widely in spontaneous vocal behavior and response to playback. The largest species (Onychomys leucogaster) was most responsive to conspecifics, but smaller O. arenicola and O. torridus exhibited no clear pattern in their vocal behavior and were even responsive to the white noise controls. Our results indicate that grasshopper mice are broadly responsive to a range of sounds that resemble calls and that long-distance vocalizations function primarily as signals that facilitate localization for subsequent close-distance assessment by both sexes in various social contexts. Variation in vocal responses among species may depend on competitive dominance, degree of interaction, acoustic similarity, or behavioral changes resulting from captivity. Replicating playback experiments in the field will help validate whether the observed variation in the laboratory reflects ecologically relevant patterns in nature.

Funder

Division of Integrative Organismal Systems

American Society of Mammalogists

Publisher

Acoustical Society of America (ASA)

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