Ultrasonic Vocalizations Emitted by Flying Squirrels

Murrant, Meghan N.; Bowman, Jeff; Garroway, Colin J.; Prinzen, Brian; Mayberry, Heather W.; Faure, Paul

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0073045

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…Adult Glaucomys flying squirrels and adult Typhlomys dormice can also produce USV calls during isolation procedure in the lab [70,137,138]. However, for some other rodent species, the isolation procedure is ineffective for inducing the USV calls in adults, as e.g.…”

Section: Yellow Steppe Lemming Model Of Usv Ontogenymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid development of mature vocal patterns of ultrasonic calls in a fast-growing rodent, the yellow steppe lemming (Eolagurus luteus)

Yurlova

Volodin

Ilchenko³

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) of laboratory rodents may serve as age-dependent indicators of emotional arousal and anxiety. Fast-growing Arvicolinae rodent species might be advantageous wild-type animal models for behavioural and medical research related to USV ontogeny. For the yellow steppe lemming Eolagurus luteus, only audible calls of adults were previously described. This study provides categorization and spectrographic analyses of 1176 USV calls emitted by 120 individual yellow steppe lemmings at 12 age classes, from birth to breeding adults over 90 days (d) of age, 10 individuals per age class, up to 10 USV calls per individual. The USV calls emerged since 1 st day of pup life and occurred at all 12 age classes and in both sexes. The unified 2-min isolation procedure on an unfamiliar territory was equally applicable for inducing USV calls at all age classes. Rapid physical growth (1 g body weight gain per day from birth to 40 d of age) and the early (9-12 d) eyes opening correlated with the early (9-12 d) emergence of mature vocal patterns of USV calls. The mature vocal patterns included a prominent shift in percentages of chevron and upward contours of fundamental frequency (f0) and the changes in the acoustic variables of USV calls. Call duration was the longest at 1-4 d, significantly shorter at 9-12 d and did not between 9-12-d and older age classes. The maximum fundamental frequency (f0max) decreased with increase of age class, from about 50 kHz in neonates to about 40 kHz in adults. These ontogenetic pathways of USV duration and f0max (towards shorter and lower-frequency USV calls) were reminiscent of those in laboratory mice Mus musculus.

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Section: Yellow Steppe Lemming Model Of Usv Ontogenymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some rodent species, both pups and adults may produce USV calls when isolated from conspecifics [5,37,49,[68][69][70][71]. Species producing isolation-induced USV calls in the same context of short-term isolation at unfamiliar territory across age classes, might be especially good candidates for the ontogenetic studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid development of mature vocal patterns of ultrasonic calls in a fast-growing rodent, the yellow steppe lemming (Eolagurus luteus)

Yurlova

Volodin

Ilchenko³

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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“…The yellow-bellied marmot is not the only squirrel for which ultrasonic harmonics have been described. Other genera include Callospermophilus (Eiler and Banack, 2004), Glaucomys (Gilley, 2013;Murrant et al, 2013;Gilley et al, 2019), Sciurus (Zelley, 1971;Lishak, 1982), Spermophilus (Koshev and Pandourski, 2008;Schneiderová, 2008Schneiderová, , 2012Matrosova et al, 2011Matrosova et al, , 2012Matrosova et al, , 2016Schneiderová and Policht, 2012;Schneiderová et al, 2020), Tamias (Blake, 1992), and Urocitellus (Melchior, 1971;Manno et al, 2007). The function of harmonics has been discussed in the context of a few species of ground squirrel (Spermophilus).…”

Section: Novelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Think Before They Squeak: Vocalizations of the Squirrel Family

Newar

Bowman

2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Squirrels (Sciuridae) are a diverse group in behavior, morphology, and ecology. This variation is typified by the wide range of vocalizations spanning ground squirrels (Marmotini and Xerini), tree squirrels (Callosciurinae and Sciurini), and flying squirrels (Pteromyini). Squirrels produce calls that range in frequency, modulation, and function, with a complex set of social calls occurring across the family. We review the history of recording methods used in the development of squirrel vocalization repertoires, with emphasis on how the ecology and methodology impact the frequency values reported. The fundamental (F 0 -the mean frequency of the fundamental harmonic), dominant (F Dom -the frequency of maximum energy or amplitude), minimum (F Min -the minimum frequency of the fundamental harmonic), maximum (F Max -the maximum frequency of the dominant harmonic), and highest harmonic (F Harm -the mean frequency of the highest visible harmonic) frequencies were considered against popular hypotheses that have attempted to explain the evolution of vocal frequency characteristics in terrestrial mammals. These hypotheses include body size, predator avoidance, habitat type, and diel activity pattern. Phylogenetic generalized least squared modeling revealed that body mass and the frequency limits of the methods were the strongest drivers of high-frequency communication. Consistent with popular hypotheses, social squirrels exhibited a broader range of F 0 , F Dom , and F Max than solitary squirrels while habitat openness promoted higher F Dom and F Harm . Additionally, nocturnality was significantly associated with higher F 0 , F Dom , and F Max , suggesting that flying squirrels, the only nocturnal squirrels, commonly use high-frequency acoustic signals, a finding that merits further investigation. In conclusion, our review provides a unique insight into the role of behavioral ecology on vocal repertoires and the importance of accurate equipment selection for sampling across a diverse taxon.

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“…There must also be a mechanism allowing squirrel nest groups to efficiently reassemble after foraging. We suggest that vocalizations may play a role in group reassembly (Murrant et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

A test of non-kin social foraging in the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans)

Murrant

Bowman

Wilson

2014

Biol J Linn Soc Lond

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It can be challenging to understand the evolution of sociality, particularly the occurrence of co-operation by non-kin. Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) are an interesting example of non-kin co-operation because of the mutual benefits obtained by social thermoregulation during winter. Because group survival confers benefits to the entire group, flying squirrels may also follow an aggregation economy, whereby co-operative foraging during winter is advantageous. However, the extent of such social foraging in flying squirrels is unknown. We tested for social foraging of southern flying squirrels, and also for relatedness among foraging groups. To determine the structure of foraging groups, we set up and remotely monitored feeding stations and nest cavities. All squirrels at the study site were tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and nests and feeding stations were monitored with automated PIT-tag recorders for a 24-month period. Squirrels were found most often foraging alone. Squirrels that were recorded foraging together comprised unrelated individuals that were also found to share nest cavities. Squirrels were also recorded travelling farther distances between nest cavity and feeding station in the winter season than in the summer season, suggesting that, during winter, squirrels trade-off proximity to food caches for membership in a nest group. Our data suggest that squirrels forage and cache alone in their summer home range and make solitary returns to this summer range to collect their cache during the winter months, despite exhibiting social winter nesting.

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Ultrasonic Vocalizations Emitted by Flying Squirrels

Cited by 19 publications

References 38 publications

Rapid development of mature vocal patterns of ultrasonic calls in a fast-growing rodent, the yellow steppe lemming (Eolagurus luteus)

Rapid development of mature vocal patterns of ultrasonic calls in a fast-growing rodent, the yellow steppe lemming (Eolagurus luteus)

Think Before They Squeak: Vocalizations of the Squirrel Family

A test of non-kin social foraging in the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans)

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