Communication among hamsters by high-frequency acoustic signals: I. Physical characteristics of hamster calls.

Abstract

Female hamsters emitted high-frequency sounds at average intensities of 53 dB (SPL). These calls tended to be 80-100 msec long and to emphasize frequencies of 34-42 kHz. However, female "ultrasounds" typically included rapid fluctuations in frequency and amplitude. Male hamsters also emitted high-frequency vocalizations, with dominant frequencies of 32-38 kHz and average durations of 70-150 msec. Although male calls generally included fewer rapid changes in amplitude and frequency than did female calls, male call structures depended on contextual factors. Calls produced by males in the presence of estrous females tended to have lower minimum frequencies, higher maximum frequencies, longer durations, and fewer rapid frequency changes than calls by solitary males. These results show that both sex differences and situational factors influence the structures of hamster ultrasounds. The frequency and amplitude changes typical of calls by females and solitary males should facilitate the localization of a calling individual over moderate distances. Calls by males in the presence of females should be more difficult to localize and might operate over shorter distances to serve a different social function.Virtually all species of small mammals examined produce, and apparently hear, sounds with frequencies well above the range of human hearing (e.g., Brown, 1973; Sales, 1972a Sales, , 1972b. These "ultrasounds" seem to serve as social communications in maternal, sexual, and aggressive behaviors (e.g., Noirot, 1972; Sales, 1972a Sales, , 1972b. For example, infant rodents vocalize in response to thermal and tactile stress (Okon, 1972). Noirot suggested that This article is based on a dissertation submitted by Owen R. Floody to the Rockefeller University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree.

Vocal behaviour during aggressive encounters between Siberian hamsters, Phodopus sungorus

“…Females used fewer plain calls and a greater number of complex calls than males, and they produced more frequency jumps within the 'jump' category (50% of jump calls had more than one frequency jump, in contrast to~15% of male calls in this category). Female Syrian hamsters (Floody & Pfaff, 1977a) and female house mice (von Merten, Hoier, Pfeifle, & Tautz, 2014) have also been reported to produce more jumps than males. As a result of these differences between the sexes in our study, female Siberian hamsters in same-sex interactions produced more variable USVs, and a greater range of USVs, than did males.…”

“…Given the great importance of olfactory cues for social interaction in rodents in general (Johnston, 2003), and copious scent marking and secretion of volatile compounds by Siberian hamsters themselves (Burger et al, 2001a(Burger et al, , 2001bWynneEdwards et al, 1992), it is highly likely that scent influences the progress of social interaction in some way other than acting as a cue that can directly trigger vocalization. Siberian hamsters are similar to other rodent species in that they produce two general classes of vocalizations that differ in structure: spectrally dense BBCs and narrowband USVs, which have been documented across rodent species (Brooks & Banks, 1973;Floody & Pfaff, 1977a, 1977bFloody et al, 1977;reviewed in: Sales, 1972;Sewell, 1970). These extreme differences in the spectral range of USVs and BBCs raises the question of whether these two broad categories also differ in function.…”

“…We predicted that, as for other rodent species, we would find structurally distinct subcategories of vocalizations (Holy & Guo, 2005). Second, we determined whether males and females differed in vocal behaviour, with the prediction that males and females would differ in the usage of particular types of vocalizations, as do some other rodent species (Floody & Pfaff, 1977a;Hammerschmidt, Radyushkin, Ehrenreich, & Fischer, 2012). Finally, we determined whether specific types of vocalizations were related to displays of aggression, and whether the two broad categories of vocalizations, USVs and BBCs, differed in their relationships to agonistic behaviour.…”

Ultrasounds emitted by female rats during agonistic interactions: effects of morphine and naltrexone

“…However, both baseline pain sensitivity and opiate-induced analgesia are sexually dimorphic and are influenced by cyclic changes in gonadal steroid levels Fessler 1976, 1977;Kasson and George 1984;Innes and Kavaliers 1987;Kepler et al 1989Kepler et al , 1991. Sex differences also exist in the duration and frequency range of ultrasonic calls emitted during sexual behavior (Floody and Pfaff 1977) as well as agonistic (Haney and Miczek 1993) or predatory defense (Blanchard et al 1992a). Therefore, results obtained with males cannot be unequivocally extrapolated to females.…”

Chemical and Behavioral Stimulation from Females Accelerates Recrudescence in Male Syrian Hamsters Exposed to Short Days

“…These scents are quite potent and can be detected by male hamsters several days after their initial deposition by females (Johnston and Lee, 1976). It has been postulated that the function of these markings may be to advertise the female's impending estrus and may provide the initial means by which males orient toward females (Floody and Pfaff, 1977). For example, males produce more ultrasonic courtship calls when investigating areas scented by intact versus vaginectomized females (Floody and Pfaff, 1977;Johnston and Kwan, 1984).…”