Vocalization of Adult Bank Voles

Abstract The bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ) is one of the most common rodent species in Europe and Asia. In nature they live in small groups based on the system of home ranges. In bank voles, ultrasonic vocalization is a way to communicate between newborns and mothers as well as between adults within the same sex or between female and male. Cooling and fasting independently stimulated high-frequency calls in infants whereas those kept in the nest temperature and exposed to a familiar scent stop to emit ultrasounds. Ultrasonic vocalization is a part of courtship and depends on the sexual experience of males. Adult male recognized by odor a phase of the reproductive cycle of female and react diversifying ultrasonic signals. Females and males that produced audible sounds were aggressive whereas those emitting ultrasounds showed amicable behavior.