London: Male house mice produce melodious songs to attract mates, but being in the ultra-sonic range our ears cannot detect them.
Through analyses of the vocalisations of wild house mice, researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, have found that the songs of male mice contain signals of kinship.
It has been known for some time that house mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during courtship but it has generally been assumed that these are no more than squeaks, the journal ‘Physiology & Behaviour’ and the ‘Journal of Ethology’ report.
However, analyses have revealed that USVs are complex and show features of song. Although the vocalizations are inaudible to human ears, when playbacks of recorded songs are slowed down their similarity to bird song becomes striking, according to a Konrad Lorenz statement. Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf and Dustin Penn of the University of Veterinary Medicine Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology aimed to learn what type of information is contained in males’ songs for the discerning ear of the female mouse to detect.
Their initial studies confirmed that males emit songs when they encounter a females’ scent and that females are attracted to males’ songs.