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Abstract Mice in the diverse genus Peromyscus are emerging as important models in the study of acoustic communication. However, reports on vocal repertoires exist for only 8 of the 56 currently recognized species. Descriptions of acoustic content and context are necessary to facilitate comparative studies. In this study, we present the first recordings of wild-captured pinyon mice (Peromyscus truei) in the laboratory in different social contexts. Similar to other Peromyscus species, pinyon mice produced four general types of vocalizations, including sustained vocalizations (SVs), barks, simple sweeps, and complex sweeps. SVs were produced primarily by females in social isolation, highlighting the potential significance of SVs in female advertisement behavior. While agonistic barks were rare, simple and complex sweeps were reliably produced in response to olfactory cues from same- and opposite-sex mice, and in paired contexts. Opposite-sex pairs produced significantly more complex sweeps than same-sex pairs, consistent with the well-supported function of sweeps in coordinating close-distance interactions. In addition, females produced sweeps with lower peak frequencies following separation from their social partner, indicative of a sex-specific mechanism to facilitate advertisement to potential mates and competitors. Together, our findings highlight the importance of social context in rodent vocal production, the significance of female vocal behavior, and the continued need to sample understudied species to better understand similarities and differences in rodent communication systems.
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Ontogeny of vocalizations in Adélie penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ) chicks from West Antarctica
Acoustic indices are an efficient method for monitoring dense aggregations of vocal animals but require understanding the acoustic ecology of the species under examination. The present understanding of avian behavior and vocal development is primarily derived from the research of songbirds (Passeriformes). However, given that behavior and environment can differ greatly among bird orders, passerine birdsong may be insufficient to define the vocal ontogeny of non-passerine birds. Like many colonial nesting seabirds, the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is adapted to loud and congested environments with limited cues to identify kinship within aggregations of conspecifics. In addition to physical or geographical cues to identify offspring, adult P. adeliae rely on vocal modulation. Numerous studies have been conducted on mutual vocal modulations in mature P. adeliae, but limited research has explored the vocal repertoire of the chicks and how their vocalizations evolve over time. Using the deep learning-based system, DeepSqueak, this study characterized the vocal ontogeny of P. adeliae chicks in the West Antarctic Peninsula to aid in autonomously tracking their age. Understanding the phenological communication patterns of vocal-dependent seabirds can help measure the impact of climate change on this indicator species through non-invasive methods.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2226886
- PAR ID:
- 10531436
- Publisher / Repository:
- Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
- Volume:
- 155
- Issue:
- 3_Supplement
- ISSN:
- 0001-4966
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- A183 to A183
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0027247
