Individual variation in the isolation calls of newborn big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus): Is variation genetic?
| Autor: | Robert M. R. Barclay, Trixie M. Rasmuson |
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| Rok vydání: | 1992 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Canadian Journal of Zoology. 70:698-702 |
| ISSN: | 1480-3283 0008-4301 |
| DOI: | 10.1139/z92-104 |
| Popis: | Isolation calls of 1-day-old big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) from three maternity colonies in southern Alberta were analyzed to examine the potential for genetically determined vocal signatures. Vocal signatures could be used by a mother to discern her pup from amongst the hundreds of young that may be found within a colony. Variation in four parameters of pup calls (minimum frequency, maximum frequency, peak frequency, and call duration) was analyzed, and statistically significant differences between pups were found, suggesting that this species does have a vocal signature. Isolation calls from the three maternity colonies and from twins within these colonies were then compared with one another to determine if similarities exist within groups of more closely related bats. There was no greater similarity in the isolation calls of pups within a colony than of pups in different colonies, nor were the calls of twins more similar to one another than the calls of less related individuals. These findings suggest that the isolation call is not genetically coded on an individual level (although it may be coded on a species level). Consequently, a mother bat must learn her infant's calls in order to recognize and selectively nurse her own young. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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