0000000000459525
AUTHOR
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Calls of the Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos s. l.) as a taxonomic characterResults of the Himalaya Expeditions of J. Martens, No. 224. - For No. 225 see: Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk. A598, 1999.
Summary A discriminant analysis of the call structure completely separates three Corvus taxa (levaillantii and japonensis of the ‘macrorhynchos group’, splendens) inhabiting the southern slopes of the Himalayas (Nepal, Kashmir). The acoustic differences are considered taxonomically relevant, indicating species boundaries. Therefore the Jungle Crows of lower and upper Nepal (contact zone at around 2,000 m) are assigned to two biospecies (C. japonensis and C. levaillantii), as is consistent with morphological, ecological and parasitological data. It appears possible to extrapolate the findings regarding call structure to the systematics of other ‘macrorhynchos’ populations as distant as the R…
The Structure and Usage of Female and Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations Reveal only Minor Differences
Ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) of mice are increasingly recognized as informative dependent variables in studies using mouse models of human diseases. While pup vocalizations primarily serve to re-establish contact with the mother, adult male ‘‘songs’’ were considered to be courtship signals. Alternatively, mouse USVs may generally function as territorial signals. To distinguish between these two hypotheses, we compared the structure and usage of adult male and female USVs in staged resident-intruder encounters. If calls function primarily as courtship signals, males should respond stronger than females, specifically when presented with a female intruder. Refuting this hypothesis, we found …
Calls of the Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos s.l.) as a taxonomic character
A discriminant analysis of the call structure completely separates threeCorvus taxa (levaillantii andjaponensis of the ‘macrorhynchos group’,splendens) inhabiting the southern slopes of the Himalayas (Nepal, Kashmir). The acoustic differences are considered taxonomically relevant, indicating species boundaries. Therefore the Jungle Crows of lower and upper Nepal (contact zone at around 2,000 m) are assigned to two biospecies (C. japonensis andC. levaillantii), as is consistent with morphological, ecological and parasitological data. It appears possible to extrapolate the findings regarding call structure to the systematics of other ‘macrorhynchos’ populations as distant as the Russian Far E…