Yen Shih-Ching, Shieh Bao-Sen, Wang Yi-Ting, Wang Ying
1 Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University. 116 No. 88, Sec. 4, Tinchow Rd., Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan.
Zoolog Sci. 2013 Dec;30(12):1025-31. doi: 10.2108/zsj.30.1025.
In sika deer Cervus nippon, rutting vocalizations play an important role in breeding behavior. This study investigated two types of rutting vocalizations, the moan and the howl, of the Formosan sika deer C. n. taiouanus, including the acoustic characteristics of the vocalizations, the diurnal and seasonal variations of vocal activity, and individual acoustic variation and identification. The results showed that the sound levels were approximately 81-88 dB(A) for the moan and 92-96 dB(A) for the howl, at a distance of 7 m from the sources. From October 2006 to January 2007, eight days of continuous observations were conducted to record the type and amount of vocalizations. Both moan and howl began to occur in the middle of October and reached peaks in the middle and end of November. Thereafter, few vocalizations were recorded until mid-January 2007. Moreover, we found that 74.5% of the first portion of moan, 65.3% of the second portion of moan, and 64.2% of howl could be identified on an individual basis by using discriminant analysis with 200 iterations of cross-validation test. These results revealed that the sounds differed among individuals, and also that they could be correctly identified. Our findings add to the scientific knowledge of sika deer behavior and provide the basis for a novel method of monitoring sika deer populations.
在梅花鹿（Cervus nippon）中，发情期叫声在繁殖行为中起着重要作用。本研究调查了台湾梅花鹿（C. n. taiouanus）的两种发情期叫声，即呻吟声和嚎叫声，包括叫声的声学特征、发声活动的昼夜和季节变化，以及个体声学差异和识别。结果表明，在距离声源7米处，呻吟声的声级约为81 - 88 dB(A)，嚎叫声的声级约为92 - 96 dB(A)。2006年10月至2007年1月，进行了连续八天的观察，以记录叫声的类型和数量。呻吟声和嚎叫声均在10月中旬开始出现，并在11月中旬和下旬达到峰值。此后，直到2007年1月中旬，记录到的叫声很少。此外，我们发现，通过使用判别分析和200次交叉验证测试，74.5%的第一部分呻吟声、65.3%的第二部分呻吟声和64.2%的嚎叫声可以在个体基础上被识别。这些结果表明，个体之间的声音存在差异，并且可以被正确识别。我们的研究结果增加了对梅花鹿行为的科学认识，并为一种监测梅花鹿种群的新方法提供了依据。
