Diversity and plasticity of vocalisations in an elusive and arboreal small mammal: the edible dormouse (Glis glis)

ABSTRACT

The acoustics of small mammals, particularly dormice species, are generally understudied. During this study, we explored the vocalisations and acoustic behaviour of the edible dormouse (Glis glis) in various environments in Catalonia using ultrasound recorders. Up to five different types of calls were identified in various environmental conditions (captivity and free-ranging animals) and developmental stages, from pups to adults. Additionally, one new call type was described. Significant differences were observed between captive and wild dormice (e.g. length of the calls and position of the peak harmonic), enhancing the plasticity of their vocalisations. In addition, ultrasonic sound production was discovered in pups, suggesting ontogenetic changes in the vocal repertoire. The lack of differences in vocalisations between sexes reported in captivity highlight the importance of traditional monitoring methods (i.e. nest boxes) for population monitoring in the case of the edible dormouse. The potential of the acoustic method as a non-invasive tool for studying ecological behaviours and interactions, or early detection of the species in the natural environment is emphasised. This study provides an open call reference library, laying the groundwork for a better understanding of edible dormouse acoustics, and focuses on the importance of future research to explore the acoustic social behaviour of the species.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioacoustics
• small mammal
• monitoring
• detectors
• surveillance
• Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM)

Acknowledgements

We thank the Barcelona Zoo Foundation for their financial support of the project, as well as the Generalitat de Catalunya and Diputació de Barcelona, especially the Natural Park of Montesquiu and Guilleries, for providing logistic support. We are indebted to all the people who have been part of this project and have helped us in some way with, in particular Camadoca Center-ADEFFA, and Oriol. We are also very thankful to the family Evarts and Mike Lockwood, for allowing us to sample in Catllar property as well as to AranperNatura and Aran Park for helping with the collection of some data, in particular Alberto Ginés. Also, a special thanks to Marc Vilella, for his support in the field and his relevant comments in the manuscript. Ferran Paramo and Toni Arrizabalaga contributed to data management and logistics. Finally, special thanks to Alfons Raspall for the illustrations included in Figure 2. We are also indebted to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments which greatly helped us to improve this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Barcelona Zoo Foundation under the Research and Conservation Program Grant; Generalitat de Catalunya under Grant number ARD264/23/000001; and Diputació de Barcelona under Grant number 2023/0005732.