Audible, but not ultrasonic, calls reflect surface-dwelling or subterranean specialization in pup and adult Brandt’s and mandarin voles

Dymskaya, Margarita M.; Volodin, Ilya A.; Smorkatcheva, Antonina V.; Vasilieva, Nina A.; Volodina, Elena V.

doi:10.1007/s00265-022-03213-6

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 77 publications

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“…However, in mammals, additionally to calls produced with phonation mechanism based on air flow‐induced vibrations of the vocal folds (Berke & Long, 2010; Herbst, 2014; Herbst et al, 2012) there are calls produced with another mechanism, the aerodynamic whistle, based on airflow vorticities in the vocal tract (Håkansson et al, 2022; Mahrt et al, 2016; Riede et al, 2017, 2022). Calls of the same individual animal produced with phonation mechanism have a substantially lower fundamental frequency than those produced with whistle mechanism (carnivores: Frey et al, 2016; Sibiryakova et al, 2021, artiodactyls: Reby et al, 2016; Volodin, Volodina, & Frey, 2017, rodents: Dymskaya et al, 2022; Fernández‐Vargas et al, 2022). In addition to cubs of cheetahs, cubs of other felids, as lynxes and pumas are capable of producing very high‐frequency calls, up to 5 kHz (Allen et al, 2016; Peters, 1987, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic features of long‐distance calls of wild cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are linked to the caller age from newborns to adults

Klenova,

Chelysheva,

Vasilieva

et al. 2023

Ethology

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Wild cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus of all age classes, from newborns to adults, use their long‐distance chirps for communication with conspecifics. We investigated the ontogenetic changes of eight acoustic parameters of the chirps produced by wild‐living cheetahs across 14 age classes in Kenya. Chirp maximum fundamental frequency (f0max) was found to be best acoustic correlate of cheetah age. The f0max was the highest in neonates (up to 10 kHz), then decreased steadily across age classes and reached a plateau of about 1 kHz in mature adults older than 4 years. Based on a close relationship of f0max with age, we fitted polynomial models for estimating cheetah age by their chirps. We discuss that gradual changes of chirp f0max suggest the gradual development of cheetah vocal apparatus. Model for age estimation by chirps in the cheetah proposed in this study may provide conservationists a non‐invasive bioacoustic tool for estimating cheetah age, particularly at ages younger than 4 years. However, introducing more data from cheetahs of precisely known age would be necessary for obtaining more accurate results of age determination by voice for the older individuals.

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