Langehennig-Peristenidou Alexandra, Felmy Felix, Scheumann Marina
Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
iScience. 2024 Nov 1;27(12):111297. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111297. eCollection 2024 Dec 20.
Graded call types predominate in species inhabiting open habitats with complex social systems, whereas discrete call types predominate in species with simple social systems living in closed habitats. This study aims to establish the vocal repertoire of Etruscan shrews, the smallest terrestrial mammal, which lives in pairs in closed habitats. Through various behavioral experiments, vocalizations were recorded and analyzed using unsupervised soft clustering, identifying four call types, one of which exhibited gradation. These calls were present in both pups and adults, showing age-related acoustic differences. One call type was observed during socio-positive behavior, with higher call rates during female-male interactions, while the others occurred during socio-negative contexts, with higher call rates for animals housed in pairs. Delivering the first detailed insight into Etruscan shrew vocal behavior, we demonstrated that the smallest terrestrial mammal possesses graded and discrete call types, regardless of its social system and habitat.
分级叫声类型在栖息于具有复杂社会系统的开放栖息地的物种中占主导地位，而离散叫声类型在生活在封闭栖息地的具有简单社会系统的物种中占主导地位。本研究旨在确定伊特鲁里亚鼩鼱（最小的陆生哺乳动物）的发声库，该物种在封闭栖息地中成对生活。通过各种行为实验，使用无监督软聚类记录并分析了发声，识别出四种叫声类型，其中一种表现出分级特征。这些叫声在幼崽和成年个体中均有出现，呈现出与年龄相关的声学差异。在社会积极行为期间观察到一种叫声类型，在雌雄互动期间叫声频率更高，而其他叫声类型出现在社会消极情境中，成对饲养的动物叫声频率更高。我们首次对伊特鲁里亚鼩鼱的发声行为进行了详细洞察，证明了这种最小的陆生哺乳动物拥有分级和离散的叫声类型，无论其社会系统和栖息地如何。
