Ultrasonic Vocalizations of Male Mice Differ among Species and Females Show Assortative Preferences for Male Calls.

ABSTRACT: Male house mice (Mus musculus) emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during courtship, which attract females, and we aimed to test whether females use these vocalizations for species or subspecies recognition of potential mates. We recorded courtship USVs of males from different Mus species, Mus musculus subspecies, and populations (F1 offspring of wild-caught Mus musculus musculus, Mus musculus domesticus (and F1 hybrid crosses), and Mus spicilegus), and we conducted playback experiments to measure female preferences for male USVs. Male vocalizations contained at least seven distinct syllable types, whose frequency of occurrence varied among species, subspecies, and populations. Detailed analyses of multiple common syllable types indicated that Mus musculus and Mus spicilegus could be disc

SUBMITTER: Musolf K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4550448 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature