Male Bats Call More Than Females in a Distressful Context

Overview

Journal R Soc Open Sci

Specialty Science

Date 2021 May 27

PMID 34040789

Citations 3

Authors

Eugenia Gonzalez-Palomares

Luciana Lopez-Jury

Johannes Wetekam

Ava Kiai

Francisco Garcia-Rosales

Julio C Hechavarria

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Distress calls are a vocalization type widespread across the animal kingdom, emitted when the animals are under duress, e.g. when captured by a predator. Here, we report on an observation we came across serendipitously while recording distress calls from the bat species , i.e. the existence of sex difference in the distress calling behaviour of this species. We show that in bats, males are more likely to produce distress vocalizations than females when hand-held. Male bats call more, their calls are louder, harsher (faster amplitude modulated) and cover lower carrier frequencies than female vocalizations. We discuss our results within a framework of potential hormonal, neurobiological and behavioural differences that could explain our findings, and open multiple paths to continue the study of sex-related differences in vocal behaviour in bats.

Citing Articles

Deviance Detection to Natural Stimuli in Population Responses of the Brainstem of Bats.

Wetekam J, Hechavarria J, Lopez-Jury L, Gonzalez-Palomares E, Kossl M J Neurosci. 2024; 44(9).

PMID: 38262723 PMC: 10904087. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1588-23.2023.

Amplitude modulation pattern of rat distress vocalisations during fear conditioning.

Gonzalez-Palomares E, Boulanger-Bertolus J, Dupin M, Mouly A, Hechavarria J Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):11173.

PMID: 37429931 PMC: 10333300. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38051-7.

Acoustic Context Modulates Natural Sound Discrimination in Auditory Cortex through Frequency-Specific Adaptation.

Lopez-Jury L, Garcia-Rosales F, Gonzalez-Palomares E, Kossl M, Hechavarria J J Neurosci. 2021; 41(50):10261-10277.

PMID: 34750226 PMC: 8672695. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0873-21.2021.

References

Rosvall K, Bergeon Burns C, Barske J, Goodson J, Schlinger B, Sengelaub D . Neural sensitivity to sex steroids predicts individual differences in aggression: implications for behavioural evolution. Proc Biol Sci. 2012; 279(1742):3547-55. PMC: 3396890. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0442. View

Lattenkamp E, Vernes S, Wiegrebe L . Vocal production learning in the pale spear-nosed bat, . Biol Lett. 2020; 16(4):20190928. PMC: 7211467. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0928. View

Blanchard R, Blanchard D, Agullana R, Weiss S . Twenty-two kHz alarm cries to presentation of a predator, by laboratory rats living in visible burrow systems. Physiol Behav. 1991; 50(5):967-72. DOI: 10.1016/0031-9384(91)90423-l. View

Knornschild M, Behr O, von Helversen O . Babbling behavior in the sac-winged bat (Saccopteryx bilineata). Naturwissenschaften. 2006; 93(9):451-4. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-006-0127-9. View

Eckenweber M, Knornschild M . Responsiveness to conspecific distress calls is influenced by day-roost proximity in bats (Saccopteryx bilineata). R Soc Open Sci. 2016; 3(5):160151. PMC: 4892459. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160151. View

Witt D . Oxytocin and rodent sociosexual responses: from behavior to gene expression. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1995; 19(2):315-24. DOI: 10.1016/0149-7634(95)00006-z. View

Palombit , SEYFARTH , Cheney . The adaptive value of 'friendships' to female baboons: experimental and observational evidence. Anim Behav. 1997; 54(3):599-614. DOI: 10.1006/anbe.1996.0457. View

Russ , Racey , Jones . Intraspecific responses to distress calls of the pipistrelle bat, Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Anim Behav. 1998; 55(3):705-13. DOI: 10.1006/anbe.1997.0665. View

Laiolo P, Tella J, Carrete M, Serrano D, Lopez G . Distress calls may honestly signal bird quality to predators. Proc Biol Sci. 2005; 271 Suppl 6:S513-5. PMC: 1810095. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2004.0239. View

10.

Kanwal J, Matsumura S, Ohlemiller K, Suga N . Analysis of acoustic elements and syntax in communication sounds emitted by mustached bats. J Acoust Soc Am. 1994; 96(3):1229-54. DOI: 10.1121/1.410273. View

11.

Erskine M, Denenberg V, Goldman B . Aggression in the lactating rat: effects of intruder age and test arena. Behav Biol. 1978; 23(1):52-66. DOI: 10.1016/s0091-6773(78)91148-3. View

12.

Marie-Luce C, Raskin K, Bolborea M, Monin M, Picot M, Mhaouty-Kodja S . Effects of neural androgen receptor disruption on aggressive behavior, arginine vasopressin and galanin systems in the bed nucleus of stria terminalis and lateral septum. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2013; 188:218-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.03.031. View

13.

Cohen J . A power primer. Psychol Bull. 2009; 112(1):155-9. DOI: 10.1037//0033-2909.112.1.155. View

14.

Hechavarria J, Beetz M, Macias S, Kossl M . Distress vocalization sequences broadcasted by bats carry redundant information. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2016; 202(7):503-15. DOI: 10.1007/s00359-016-1099-7. View

15.

Adkins-Regan E . Testosterone increases singing and aggression but not male-typical sexual partner preference in early estrogen treated female zebra finches. Horm Behav. 1999; 35(1):63-70. DOI: 10.1006/hbeh.1998.1497. View

16.

Ey E, Pfefferle D, Fischer J . Do age- and sex-related variations reliably reflect body size in non-human primate vocalizations? A review. Primates. 2007; 48(4):253-67. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-006-0033-y. View

17.

de Vries G, Panzica G . Sexual differentiation of central vasopressin and vasotocin systems in vertebrates: different mechanisms, similar endpoints. Neuroscience. 2005; 138(3):947-55. PMC: 1457099. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.07.050. View

18.

Eisenegger C, Haushofer J, Fehr E . The role of testosterone in social interaction. Trends Cogn Sci. 2011; 15(6):263-71. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.04.008. View

19.

Rendall D, Kollias S, Ney C, Lloyd P . Pitch (F0) and formant profiles of human vowels and vowel-like baboon grunts: the role of vocalizer body size and voice-acoustic allometry. J Acoust Soc Am. 2005; 117(2):944-55. DOI: 10.1121/1.1848011. View

20.

Jiang T, Huang X, Wu H, Feng J . Size and quality information in acoustic signals of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in distress situations. Physiol Behav. 2017; 173:252-257. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.02.025. View