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Behaviour Associated with Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Six Gerbilline Rodent Species
Author(s) -
Dempster Edith R.,
Dempster R.,
Perrin M. R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
ethology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0179-1613
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1991.tb00259.x
Subject(s) - zoology , taxon , subspecies , sexual behavior , biology , communication , audiology , psychology , ecology , developmental psychology , medicine
Encounters were staged between male and oestrus‐induced females of the same or different taxa of the species/subspecies Gerbillurus paeba paeba, G. p. exilis, G. tytonis, G. setzeri, G. vallinus and Tatera brantsii . Each encounter lasted 20 min; converted ultrasonic emissions were recorded on videotape simultaneously with visual images. Videotapes were transcribed and sequences of acts and vocalizations were recorded. The frequency of acts was compared separately with the number of ultrasonic vocalizations during and after acts by χ 2 contingency table analysis, followed by partitioned χ 2 to identify individual acts which contributed significantly to the overall χ 2 value. Vocalizations occurred significantly more frequently than expected during sexual and/or huddling behaviour in all species‐groups; and significantly less frequently than expected during exploratory, watching and/or submissive behaviour. Vocalizations were uncommon during investigative behaviour in all taxa, and aggressive behaviour in Gerbillurus taxa, but occurred significantly more frequently than expected after these behaviour categories in all taxa. Analysis of vocalizations immediately following acts verified the interpretations of function of vocalizations during acts. Ultrasonic vocalizations clearly play an important role in the communication of six taxa of southern African gerbils.