Meeting Abstract
Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are one of the few mammalian species to form stable attachments, or pair bonds, between mating partners. A great deal is known about the function of vole tactile social behaviors (e.g., mating, huddling) in establishing pair bonds, but the role of conspicuous behaviors like ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) remains a mystery. Here, we quantify the temporal dynamics of vocal activity during pair-bond formation and map these dynamics onto other measures of affiliation like partner proximity and mating. Following 4-5 days of social isolation, subjects were paired with either a familiar same-sex sibling or a novel opposite-sex mating partner for up to 22h while we continuously tracked their movements and vocalizations. For both sibling and mating pairs, time courses of vocal activity and partner distance were strongly correlated in that higher USV rates occurred when pairs were separated. Moreover, mating pairs produced higher USV rates than sibling pairs, with peaks in vocal activity linked to the male initiation of mating. Preliminary results reveal that USVs associated with mating are acoustically distinct from USVs that occur when isolated, suggesting that USVs can function both as courtship signals and contact calls. Taken together, our results suggest that prairie vole USVs function to re-establish contact with social partners and promote mating interactions that are critical for pair-bond formation.
