1
|
Rutovskaya MV, Volodin IA, Feoktistova NY, Surov AV, Gureeva AV, Volodina EV. Acoustic complexity of pup isolation calls in Mongolian hamsters: 3-frequency phenomena and chaos. Curr Zool 2024; 70:559-574. [PMID: 39463689 PMCID: PMC11502153 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Studying pup isolation calls of wild rodents provides background for developing new early-life animal models for biomedical research and drug testing. This study discovered a highly complex acoustic phenotype of pup isolation calls in 4-5-day-old Mongolian hamsters Allocricetulus curtatus. We analyzed the acoustic structure of 5,010 isolation calls emitted in the broad range of frequencies (sonic, below 20 kHz, and ultrasonic, from 20 to 128 kHz) by 23 pups during 2-min isolation test trials, 1 trial per pup. In addition, we measured 5 body size parameters and the body weight of each pup. The calls could contain up to 3 independent fundamental frequencies in their spectra, the low (f0), the medium (g0), and the high (h0), or purely consisted of chaos in which the fundamental frequency could not be tracked. By presence/absence of the 3 fundamental frequencies or their combinations and chaos, we classified calls into 6 distinctive categories (low-frequency [LF]-f0, LF-chaos, high-frequency [HF]-g0, HF-h0, HF-g0 + h0, and HF-chaos) and estimated the relative abundance of calls in each category. Between categories, we compared acoustic parameters and estimated their relationship with pup body size index. We discuss the results of this study with data on the acoustics of pup isolation calls reported for other species of rodents. We conclude that such high complexity of Mongolian hamster pup isolation calls is unusual for rodents. Decreased acoustic complexity serves as a good indicator of autism spectrum disorders in knockout mouse models, which makes knockout hamster models prospective new wild animal model of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marina V Rutovskaya
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia
| | - Natalia Y Feoktistova
- Department of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Alexey V Surov
- Department of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Anna V Gureeva
- Department of Comparative Ethology and Biocommunication, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cristiano W, Raimondi T, Valente D, De Gregorio C, Torti V, Ferrario V, Carugati F, Miaretsoa L, Mancini L, Gamba M, Giacoma C. Singing more, singing harsher: occurrence of nonlinear phenomena in a primate' song. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1661-1673. [PMID: 37458893 PMCID: PMC10442282 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01809-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the communicative role of these features, if any, is still unclear. We here investigate the occurrence of NLP in the song of a singing primate, the indri (Indri indri), testing for the effect of sex, age, season, and duration of the vocal display on their emission. Our results show that NLP occurrence in indri depends on phonation, i.e., the cumulative duration of all the units emitted by an individual, and that NLP have higher probability to be emitted in the later stages of the song, probably due to the fatigue indris may experience while singing. Furthermore, NLP happen earlier in the vocal display of adult females than in that of the adult males, and this is probably due to the fact that fatigue occurs earlier in the former because of a greater contribution within the song. Our findings suggest, therefore, that indris may be subjected to physiological constraints during the singing process which may impair the production of harmonic sounds. However, indris may still benefit from emitting NLP by strengthening the loudness of their signals for better advertising their presence to the neighboring conspecific groups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Walter Cristiano
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy.
- Ecosystems and Health Unit, Environment and Health Department, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161, Rome, Italy.
| | - Teresa Raimondi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Daria Valente
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Chiara De Gregorio
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Torti
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Valeria Ferrario
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Filippo Carugati
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Longondraza Miaretsoa
- Groupe d'Étude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP), II M 78 BIS Antsakaviro, B.P 779, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Laura Mancini
- Ecosystems and Health Unit, Environment and Health Department, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Gamba
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| | - Cristina Giacoma
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10123, Turin, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zedda M, Brunetti A, Palombo MR. First Attempt to Infer Sound Hearing and Its Paleoenvironmental Implications in the Extinct Insular Canid Cynotherium sardous Studiati, 1857 (Sardinia, Italy). Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12070833. [PMID: 35405823 PMCID: PMC8996844 DOI: 10.3390/ani12070833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The microtomographic approach allows nondestructive acquisition of anatomical details of the bone labyrinth that houses the inner ear. The petrosal bone can be a gold mine of information for a variety of questions in different research fields, including taxonomic, behavioral, and genetic studies. The semicircular canals provide information on head posture and locomotor ability, whereas the cochlea provides data on hearing ability. The petrosal bone is the hardest structure in the skeleton and could be well preserved in fossil specimens. As a result, it is becoming more and more popular in current archaeological and paleontological studies. In this study, petrosal microtomographic analysis was applied for the first time to Cynotherium sardous, a highly modified endemic canid that inhabited Sardinia during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Indications about its hearing ability may provide interesting insights to better understand the new lifestyle and behavior this canid acquired during the long evolutionary process it underwent in the peculiar insular ecosystem with a depleted fauna. The poor hearing and echolocalization capabilities of Cynotherium sardous would have been the outcome of reduced competition pressure due to the absence of predators and the abundance of prey, such as the large ochotonid Prolagus sardus, while the high-frequency hearing could be interpreted as an adaptation to detect sounds emitted by its preferred prey. Abstract This is the first study on the bony labyrinth of Cynotherium sardous, an intriguing extinct canid that inhabited Sardinia in the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. The morphological features of the cochlea indicate that C. sardous had a lower number of cochlear turns (2.25) than all extant canids. This feature, as well as the reduced length of the spiral canal, the cochlear curvature rate, and the narrow basal membrane, indicates that C. sardous had poor hearing abilities limited to high-frequency sounds with a low limit of 250 Hz and poor echolocalization skills. From the data available, it is not possible to infer whether C. sardous was unable to echolocalize its prey and relied on other senses (e.g., smell and sight) to locate them or whether the acoustic range of C. sardous was specialized for identifying the sounds produced by its most common prey to transmit signals for predator warnings or group communication. All things considered, the results obtained confirm the utility of cochlea morphological studies in reconstructing the hearing abilities of this species and in providing some suggestions about its ethology, but they fall short of providing any new sound evidence regarding the ecological role of C. sardous in the Late Pleistocene Sardinian ecosystem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zedda
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-079-229-583
| | - Antonio Brunetti
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
| | - Maria Rita Palombo
- CNR-IGAG c/o Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Volodin IA, Yurlova DD, Ilchenko OG, Vasilieva NA, Volodina EV. Non-individualistic ultrasonic and audible isolation calls throughout ontogeny in a rodent, Eolagurus luteus. Behav Processes 2021; 193:104540. [PMID: 34774667 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Acoustic individuality is present in diverse taxa of mammals and birds, becoming especially prominent in those age groups for which discriminating conspecifics by voice is critically important. This study compares, for the first time, the ontogenetic changes of acoustic individuality of ultrasonic and audible calls (USVs and AUDs) across 12 age-classes (from neonates to adults) in captive yellow steppe lemmings Eolagurus luteus. We found that, in this rodent species, the isolation-induced USVs and AUDs are not individually distinct at any age. We discuss that this result is unusual, because discriminating individuals by individualistic vocal traits may be important for such a social species as yellow steppe lemming. We also discuss the potential role of acoustic individuality in studies including rodent models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia; Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia.
| | - Daria D Yurlova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow 119234, Russia.
| | - Olga G Ilchenko
- Small Mammals Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya, 1, Moscow 123242, Russia.
| | - Nina A Vasilieva
- Department of Population Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia.
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect, 33, Moscow 119071, Russia.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Volodin IA, Volodina EV, Frey R, Karaseva KD, Kirilyuk VE. Daurian pika (Ochotona dauurica) alarm calls: individual acoustic variation in a lagomorph with audible through ultrasonic vocalizations. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Colonial lagomorphs warn conspecifics of potential danger with alarm calls encoding information about attributes of presumptive predators as well as the caller. In this study, we show that alarm calls of Daurian pikas, Ochotona dauurica (Pallas, 1776), encode information about caller identity. We recorded the alarm calls produced toward a surrogate predator (researcher), slowly moving (0.5–1 km/h) between densely distributed colonies. The alarm calls of most (32 of the 35) callers started in the ultrasonic range at 22.41 kHz on average and rapidly decreased to 3.88 kHz on average at call end. Call duration was very short (0.057 s on average). The accuracy of classifying alarm calls to correct callers with discriminant function analysis (DFA) was 93.71% for the manually measured set of 12 acoustic variables and 95.43% for the semiautomatically measured set of 12 acoustic variables; in both cases exceeding the level of chance (17.28% or 17.33%, respectively). Nonlinear vocal phenomena (biphonations) only were detected in one individual. We discuss the relationship between vocal traits, individuality, vocal production mechanisms, and functions, of pika alarm calls. We propose a potential divergence of alarm calls in Asian pikas to high-frequency whistles (> 20 kHz in Daurian pikas) and in American pikas to low-frequency emissions (0.4–1.3 kHz in Ochotona princeps) during the evolutionary radiation of pikas at the center of the origin of lagomorphs in East Asia and their subsequent geographic dispersal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Roland Frey
- Department of Reproduction Management, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kseniya D Karaseva
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vadim E Kirilyuk
- Daursky State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Nizhnii Tsasuchei, Ononskii District, Zabaikalskii Krai, Russia
- Department of Biogeography, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Kozhevnikova JD, Volodin IA, Zaytseva AS, Ilchenko OG, Volodina EV. Pup ultrasonic isolation calls of six gerbil species and the relationship between acoustic traits and body size. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201558. [PMID: 33959325 PMCID: PMC8074943 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia D. Kozhevnikova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia
| | - Ilya A. Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| | - Alexandra S. Zaytseva
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, 119234 Moscow, Russia
- Department of Small Mammals, Moscow Zoo, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Elena V. Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Volodin IA, Klenova AV, Ilchenko OG, Volodina EV. High frequency audible calls in northern birch mice Sicista betulina in response to handling: effects of individuality, sex and body mass on the acoustics. BMC Res Notes 2019; 12:677. [PMID: 31640790 PMCID: PMC6805337 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-019-4719-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This is the first study of the sonic and ultrasonic vocalization in a Dipodidae rodent. For the small-sized quadrupedal northern birch mouse Sicista betulina, phylogenetically related to the bipedal jerboas (Dipodidae), we report null results for ultrasonic vocalization and investigate the acoustic cues to individual identity, sex and body size in the discomfort-related high-frequency tonal sonic calls. RESULTS We used a parallel audio recording in the sonic and ultrasonic ranges during weighting adult northern birch mice before the scheduled hibernation in captivity. The sonic (audible) high-frequency tonal calls (ranging from 6.21 to 9.86 kHz) were presented in all individuals (7 males and 4 females). The ultrasonic calls lacked in the recordings. Two-way nested ANOVA revealed the effects of caller individual identity on all 10 measured acoustic variables and the effects of sex on four out of 10 measured acoustic variables. Discriminant function analyses with 10 acoustic variables included in the analysis showed 85.5% correct assignment of calls to individual and 79.7% correct assignment of calls to sex; both values significantly exceeded the random values (23.1% and 54.3%, respectively) calculated with randomization procedure. Body mass did not differ between sexes and did not correlate significantly with the acoustic variables.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow, 119234, Russia. .,Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya, 1, Moscow, 123242, Russia.
| | - Anna V Klenova
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, 1/12, Moscow, 119234, Russia
| | - Olga G Ilchenko
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya, 1, Moscow, 123242, Russia
| | - Elena V Volodina
- Scientific Research Department, Moscow Zoo, B. Gruzinskaya, 1, Moscow, 123242, Russia
| |
Collapse
|