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Griffiths GC, Pasch B. Variation in responses to conspecific and heterospecific advertisement vocalizations in sympatric grasshopper mice (Onychomys). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 156:524-533. [PMID: 39024385 DOI: 10.1121/10.0026540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace C Griffiths
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, USA
| | - Bret Pasch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
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2
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Vélez A, Sandoval SM. Size matters: individual variation in auditory sensitivity may influence sexual selection in Pacific treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024:10.1007/s00359-024-01690-w. [PMID: 38367051 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-024-01690-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
The matched filter hypothesis proposes a close match between senders and receivers and is supported by several studies on variation in signal properties and sensory-processing mechanisms among species and populations. Importantly, within populations, individual variation in sensory processing may affect how receivers perceive signals. Our main goals were to characterize hearing sensitivity of Pacific treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla), assess patterns of individual variation in hearing sensitivity, and evaluate how among-individual variation in hearing sensitivity and call frequency content affect auditory processing of communication signals. Overall, males and females are most sensitive to frequencies between 2.0 and 2.5 kHz, which matches the dominant frequency of the call, and have a second region of high sensitivity between 400 and 800 Hz that does not match the fundamental frequency of the call. We found high levels of among-individual variation in hearing sensitivity, primarily driven by subject size. Importantly, patterns of among-individual variation in hearing differ between males and females. Cross-correlation analyses reveal that among-individual variation in hearing sensitivity may lead to differences on how receivers, particularly females, perceive male calls. Our results suggest that individual variation in sensory processing may affect signal perception and influence the evolution of sexually selected traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Vélez
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA.
| | - Sam Moreno Sandoval
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA
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3
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New EM, Hurd JA, Alarcon GA, Miller CS, Williams PA, Greene NT, Sergott CE, Li BZ, Lei TC, McCullagh EA. Hearing ability of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 155:555-567. [PMID: 38259128 PMCID: PMC10807928 DOI: 10.1121/10.0024357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
The hearing abilities of mammals are impacted by factors such as social cues, habitat, and physical characteristics. Despite being used commonly to study social behaviors, hearing of the monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) has never been characterized. In this study, anatomical features are measured and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) are used to measure auditory capabilities of prairie voles, characterizing monaural and binaural hearing and hearing range. Sexually naive male and female voles were measured to characterize differences due to sex. It was found that prairie voles show a hearing range with greatest sensitivity between 8 and 32 kHz, binaural hearing across interaural time difference ranges appropriate for their head sizes. No differences are shown between the sexes in binaural hearing or hearing range (except at 1 kHz), however, female voles have increased amplitude of peripheral ABR waves I and II and longer latency of waves III and IV compared to males. The results confirm that prairie voles have a broad hearing range, binaural hearing consistent with rodents of similar size, and differences in amplitudes and thresholds of monaural physiological measures between the sexes. These data further highlight the necessity to understand sex-specific differences in neural processing that may underly variability in responses between sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M New
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Jessica A Hurd
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Genesis A Alarcon
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Cameron S Miller
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Peyton A Williams
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Nathaniel T Greene
- Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Casey E Sergott
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
| | - Ben-Zheng Li
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80204, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Tim C Lei
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80204, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
| | - Elizabeth A McCullagh
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA
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Capshaw G, Vicencio-Jimenez S, Screven LA, Burke K, Weinberg MM, Lauer AM. Physiological Evidence for Delayed Age-related Hearing Loss in Two Long-lived Rodent Species (Peromyscus leucopus and P. californicus). J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2022; 23:617-631. [PMID: 35882705 PMCID: PMC9613845 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-022-00860-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Deer mice (genus Peromyscus) are an emerging model for aging studies due to their longevity relative to rodents of similar size. Although Peromyscus species are well-represented in genetic, developmental, and behavioral studies, relatively few studies have investigated auditory sensitivity in this genus. Given the potential utility of Peromyscus for investigations of age-related changes to auditory function, we recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) in two Peromyscus species, P. californicus, and P. leucopus, across the lifespan. We compared hearing sensitivity and ABR wave metrics measured in these species with measurements from Mus musculus (CBA/CaJ strain) to assess age-related effects on hearing across species. Recordings in young animals showed that all species had similar hearing ranges and thresholds with peak sensitivity ranging from 8 to 16 kHz; however, P. californicus and P. leucopus were more sensitive to frequencies below 8 kHz. Although M. musculus showed significant threshold shifts across a broad range of frequencies beginning at middle age and worsening among old individuals, older Peromyscus mice retained good sensitivity to sound across their lifespan. Middle-aged P. leucopus had comparable thresholds to young for frequencies below 24 kHz. P. leucopus also had notably large ABRs that were robust to age-related amplitude reductions, although response latencies increased with age. Old P. californicus were less sensitive to mid-range tones (8-16 kHz) than young individuals; however, there were no significant age-effects on ABR amplitudes or latencies in this species. These results indicate that longevity in Peromyscus mice may be correlated with delayed aging of the auditory system and highlight these species as promising candidates for longitudinal hearing research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Capshaw
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Sergio Vicencio-Jimenez
- Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Laurel A. Screven
- Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Kali Burke
- Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Madison M. Weinberg
- Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Amanda M. Lauer
- Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
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5
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Age-related and noise-induced hearing loss alters grasshopper mouse (Onychomys) vocalizations. Hear Res 2021; 404:108210. [PMID: 33713993 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2021.108210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Age-related and noise-induced hearing loss disorders are among the most common pathologies affecting Americans across their lifespans. Loss of auditory feedback due to hearing disorders is correlated with changes in voice and speech-motor control in humans. Although rodents are increasingly used to model human age- and noise-induced hearing loss, few studies have assessed vocal changes after acoustic trauma. Northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster) represent a candidate model because their hearing sensitivity is matched to the frequencies of long-distance vocalizations that are produced using vocal fold vibrations similar to human speech. In this study, we quantified changes in auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and vocalizations related to aging and noise-induced acoustic trauma. Mice showed a progressive decrease in hearing sensitivity across 4-32 kHz, with males losing hearing more rapidly than females. In addition, noise-exposed mice had a 61.55 dB SPL decrease in ABR sensitivity following a noise exposure, with some individuals exhibiting a 21.25 dB recovery 300-330 days after noise exposure. We also found that older grasshopper mice produced calls with lower fundamental frequency. Sex differences were measured in duration of calls with females producing longer calls with age. Our findings indicate that grasshopper mice experience age- and noise- induced hearing loss and concomitant changes in vocal output, making them a promising model for hearing and communication disorders.
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Postal O, Dupont T, Bakay W, Dominique N, Petit C, Michalski N, Gourévitch B. Spontaneous Mouse Behavior in Presence of Dissonance and Acoustic Roughness. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:588834. [PMID: 33132864 PMCID: PMC7578920 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.588834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
According to a novel hypothesis (Arnal et al., 2015, Current Biology 25:2051-2056), auditory roughness, or temporal envelope modulations between 30 and 150 Hz, are present in both natural and artificial human alarm signals, which boosts the detection of these alarms in various tasks. These results also shed new light on the unpleasantness of dissonant sounds to humans, which builds upon the high level of roughness present in such sounds. However, it is not clear whether this hypothesis also applies to other species, such as rodents. In particular, whether consonant/dissonant chords, and particularly whether auditory roughness, can trigger unpleasant sensations in mice remains unknown. Using an autonomous behavioral system, which allows the monitoring of mouse behavior over a period of weeks, we observed that C57Bl6J mice did not show any preference for consonant chords. In addition, we found that mice showed a preference for rough sounds over sounds having amplitude modulations in their temporal envelope outside the "rough" range. These results suggest that some emotional features carried by the acoustic temporal envelope are likely to be species-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Postal
- Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, Collège Doctoral, Paris, France
| | - Typhaine Dupont
- Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Warren Bakay
- Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Noémi Dominique
- Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Christine Petit
- Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Paris, France
- Syndrome de Usher et Autres Atteintes Rétino-Cochléaires, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
- Collège de France, Paris, France
| | | | - Boris Gourévitch
- Institut de l’Audition, Institut Pasteur, INSERM, Paris, France
- CNRS, Paris, France
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Cai H, Dent ML. Best sensitivity of temporal modulation transfer functions in laboratory mice matches the amplitude modulation embedded in vocalizations. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 147:337. [PMID: 32006990 PMCID: PMC7043865 DOI: 10.1121/10.0000583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The perception of spectrotemporal changes is crucial for distinguishing between acoustic signals, including vocalizations. Temporal modulation transfer functions (TMTFs) have been measured in many species and reveal that the discrimination of amplitude modulation suffers at rapid modulation frequencies. TMTFs were measured in six CBA/CaJ mice in an operant conditioning procedure, where mice were trained to discriminate an 800 ms amplitude modulated white noise target from a continuous noise background. TMTFs of mice show a bandpass characteristic, with an upper limit cutoff frequency of around 567 Hz. Within the measured modulation frequencies ranging from 5 Hz to 1280 Hz, the mice show a best sensitivity for amplitude modulation at around 160 Hz. To look for a possible parallel evolution between sound perception and production in living organisms, we also analyzed the components of amplitude modulations embedded in natural ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) emitted by this strain. We found that the cutoff frequency of amplitude modulation in most of the individual USVs is around their most sensitive range obtained from the psychoacoustic experiments. Further analyses of the duration and modulation frequency ranges of USVs indicated that the broader the frequency ranges of amplitude modulation in natural USVs, the shorter the durations of the USVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaizhen Cai
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
| | - Micheal L Dent
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
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Campbell P, Arévalo L, Martin H, Chen C, Sun S, Rowe AH, Webster MS, Searle JB, Pasch B. Vocal divergence is concordant with genomic evidence for strong reproductive isolation in grasshopper mice ( Onychomys). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:12886-12896. [PMID: 31788222 PMCID: PMC6875671 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral barriers to gene flow often evolve faster than intrinsic incompatibilities and can eliminate the opportunity for hybridization between interfertile species. While acoustic signal divergence is a common driver of premating isolation in birds and insects, its contribution to speciation in mammals is less studied. Here we characterize the incidence of, and potential barriers to, hybridization among three closely related species of grasshopper mice (genus Onychomys). All three species use long-distance acoustic signals to attract and localize mates; Onychomys arenicola and Onychomys torridus are acoustically similar and morphologically cryptic whereas Onychomys leucogaster is larger and acoustically distinct. We used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) to test for evidence of introgression in 227 mice from allopatric and sympatric localities in the western United States and northern Mexico. We conducted laboratory mating trials for all species pairs to assess reproductive compatibility, and recorded vocalizations from O. arenicola and O. torridus in sympatry and allopatry to test for evidence of acoustic character displacement. Hybridization was rare in nature and, contrary to prior evidence for O. torridus/O. arenicola hybrids, only involved O. leucogaster and O. arenicola. In contrast, laboratory crosses between O. torridus and O. arenicola produced litters whereas O. leucogaster and O. arenicola crosses did not. Call fundamental frequency in O. torridus and O. arenicola was indistinguishable in allopatry but significantly differentiated in sympatry, a pattern consistent with reproductive character displacement. These results suggest that assortative mating based on a long-distance signal is an important isolating mechanism between O. torridus and O. arenicola and highlight the importance of behavioral barriers in determining the permeability of species boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polly Campbell
- Department of Integrative BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOKUSA
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal BiologyUniversity of California, RiversideRiversideCAUSA
| | - Lena Arévalo
- Department of Integrative BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOKUSA
- Department of Developmental PathologyUniversity of BonnBonnGermany
| | - Heather Martin
- Department of Integrative BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOKUSA
| | - Charles Chen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOKUSA
| | - Shuzhen Sun
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOKUSA
- Department of Forest and Conservation SciencesForest Science CentreThe University of British ColumbiaVancouverBCCanada
| | - Ashlee H. Rowe
- Department of BiologyThe University of OklahomaNormanOKUSA
| | - Michael S. Webster
- Macaulay LibraryCornell Lab of OrnithologyCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
- Department of Neurobiology and BehaviorCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
| | - Jeremy B. Searle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
| | - Bret Pasch
- Department of Biological SciencesNorthern Arizona UniversityFlagstaffAZUSA
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