Communication among hamsters by high-frequency acoustic signals: III. Response evoked by natural and synthetic ultrasounds.
- 1 August 1977
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology
- Vol. 91 (4) , 820-829
- https://doi.org/10.1037/h0077360
Abstract
Male and female golden hamsters [Mesocricetus auratus] showed clear behavioral responses to playback of recorded ultrasounds. Estrous females increased their rates of ultrasound production upon exposure to recorded ultrasounds. Hamsters of both sexes, exposed to natural or artificial high-frequency calls in a Y-maze, were able to localize the ultrasound source and were attracted to it. Estrous females performing lordosis after brief male-female contact maintained that posture significantly longer in the presence of recorded ultrasounds than in silence. On the basis of these findings and the results of other studies of hamster social behaviors, the functional significance of hamster ultrasounds is discussed in relation to other elements of a hormone-dependent communication chain regulating hamster reproduction.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Communication among hamsters by high-frequency acoustic signals: I. Physical characteristics of hamster calls.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1977