Acoustic aspects of domestication: vocal signals of alarm and courtship in wild and domestic cavies.

Author(s)

Patrícia Ferreira Monticelli

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Psicologia (IP/SBD)
• Defense date: 2000-07-28

Examining board members

Cesar Ades; Beatriz de Mello Beisiegel; Jose Lino Oliveira Bueno

• Advisor: Cesar Ades

Abstract

Comparision of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and wild cavies (C. aperea) provides privileged models for the understanding of the behavioral effects of domestication (Künzl & Sachser, 1999). We here present a comparision between alarm (drr) and courtship (purr) vocalizations in domestic and wild types of cavies. We recorded and analyzed sonographically such calls in guinea pigs from our laboratory stock and in two samples of wild cavies, one from Münster University (Germany), bred from individuals captured in Argentina, and one from Itu (State of São Paulo). There were significant differences between domestic and both wild cavies samples in the temporal features of the drr (pulse duration, interpulse interval duration and rate of emission) and between the Münster and Itu samples in frequency related features (minimum and maximum freqüencies of the fundamental and maximum frequency of the call). Courtship calls purr of domestic and wild cavies from Münster also differed in temporal acoustical features. Our results show that both domestication and ecotypic factors may influence vocal communication. Playback studies could eventually show to what extent there is interspecific discrimination of the acoustic features of the alarm and courtship calls of cavies. (AU)