Vocalization during agonistic encounter in Mongolian gerbils: Impact of sexual experience

PLoS One. 2022 Aug 2;17(8):e0272402. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272402. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Behaviors and vocalizations associated with aggression are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, and organize social hierarchy. Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are highly aggressive and frequently emit calls. We took advantage of these features to study the relationship between vocalizations and aggressive behaviors in virgin and sexually experienced male and female Mongolian gerbils through the same-sex resident-intruder test. Both sexes of resident gerbils exhibited aggressive responses toward intruders. Multiparous females exhibited the most aggressive responses among the four groups. We also confirmed two groups of vocalizations during the encounters: high-frequency (>24.6 kHz) and low-frequency (<24.6 kHz). At the timing of high-frequency vocalizations observed during the tests, the vast majority (96.2%) of the behavioral interactions were non-agonistic. While, at the timing of low-frequency vocalizations observed during the tests, around half (45%) of the behavioral interactions were agonistic. Low-frequency vocalizations were observed mainly during encounters in which multiparous females were involved. These results suggest that high- and low-frequency vocalizations relate to non-agonistic and agonistic interactions, respectively. In addition to affecting aggressive behavior, sexual experience also affects vocalization during encounters. These findings provide new insights into the modulatory effects of sex and sexual experience on vocalizations during agonistic encounters.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aggression* / physiology
  • Agonistic Behavior / physiology
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Gerbillinae / physiology
  • Male
  • Vocalization, Animal* / physiology

Grants and funding

This work was supported partly by KAKENHI Grants JP18KK0468 and JP21K07489 (to R. Y.), JP19K09918 (to M. O.), JP21K11251 (S. Y.) JP21H03469 (to K. I. K.), JP17H02223 (to N. K.). JP19K16192 (to T. F.) Kawano Masanori Memorial Public Interest Incorporated Foundation for Promotion of Pediatrics (to T.F.) The Kawai Foundation for Sound Technology & Music (to T.F.) Casio Science Foundation (to T.F.) No sponsors or funders play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.