engleski

First data on the acoustic repertoire of Balkan Snow Vole (Dinaromys bogdanovi) in captivity

Rodents' vocalisation is an important component of their behaviour, and in the case of the Balkan snow vole (Dinaromys bogdanovi) it is completely unknown. The study on vocalisation of this endemic rodent was conducted on 15 adult specimens housed at the Zagreb Zoo. The aim of the research was to identify the acoustic repertoire of this species and to determinate differences in acoustic signals in array of environmental situations. The animals were tested in various settings, including new territory, presence of scent or presence of conspecific or heterospecific. The vocalisation was recorded in real time with a UltraMIc 200K microphone. The sonographic analysis of acoustic parameters has determined simple signals with frequency modulation, including high, low, and high‐low tendencies ; signals of a constant frequency and complex signals based from multiple components including harmonics, frequency steps and leaps. Our results showed that vocalisation in the sonic and ultrasonic spectra with a high variance of ultrasonic signals could be found during a specimen's social contact, while during spatial exploration or scent simulation of another species, the variability and frequency of the calls were reduced to a minimum. This study is the first report of the vocal repertoire of D. bogdanovi, variability and possible importance of vocalisation for this highly endemic rodent species.

ultrasonic calls; interspecies and intraspecis communication; Rodentia

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