1. Development of vocalization and hearing in American mink (Neovison vison)
- Author
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Rasmus L. Nielsen, Jens Malmkvist, Christian Brandt, Annemarie Surlykke, and Nanna Brande-Lavridsen
- Subjects
Male ,Aging ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Sound Spectrography ,vocalization ,Physiology ,Aquatic Science ,Audiology ,Vocalization, Animal/physiology ,ABR ,social communication ,Neovison ,Maternal behaviour ,Hearing/physiology ,Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem/physiology ,Hearing ,biology.animal ,Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ,otorhinolaryngologic diseases ,medicine ,Animals ,American mink ,Mink ,Molecular Biology ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Auditory Threshold/physiology ,maternal behaviour ,biology ,Adult female ,auditory brainstem response ,Auditory Threshold ,Mustela vison syn. Neovison vison ,biology.organism_classification ,Aging/physiology ,Neovison vison ,Altricial ,Sound ,Auditory brainstem response ,Mink/growth & development ,Insect Science ,Hearing range ,Female ,Mustela vison syn ,Animal Science and Zoology ,Vocalization, Animal - Abstract
Summary American mink (Neovison vison) kits are born altricial and fully dependent 40 on maternal care, for which the kits' vocalisations appear essential. We used Auditory Brainstem Recording (ABR) to determine (1) hearing sensitivity of adult females from two breeding lines known to differ in maternal behaviour and (2) development of hearing in kits 8-52 days of age. We also studied sound production in 20 kits throughout postnatal days 1 to 44. Adult female mink had a broad hearing range from 1 kHz to above 70 kHz, with peak sensitivity (threshold of 20 dB SPL) at 8-10 kHz, and no difference in sensitivity between the two breeding lines (P>0.22) to explain the difference in maternal care. Mink kits showed no signs of hearing up to postnatal day 24. From day 30 all kits had ABRs indicative of hearing. Hearing sensitivity increased with age, but was still below the adult level at postnatal day 52. When separated from their mothers kits vocalized loudly. Until age 22 days, 90% of all kits vocalized with no significant decline with age (P=0.27). From day 25, concurrent with the start of hearing, the number of vocalizing kits decreased with age (P
- Published
- 2013
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