Comparative study on isolation calls emitted from hamster pups

Waveforms of isolation calls emitted from hamster pups, which were Syrian h amsters, Djungarian hamsters, and Chinese hamsters, were compared in a basi c study on improving reproduction by decrease of cannibalism, because it wa s reported that maternal behavior was induced by isolation calls in rodents . Isolation calls of hamster pups, isolated from their mother and receiving cold stress, were collected by Real-Time Spectrogram (RTS), and calculated to spectrograms and power spectra by SIGNAL. Isolation calls consisted of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and audible vocalizations (ADVs) in each sp ecies. Waveforms of isolation calls emitted by the hamster pups, were shown to have several characteristic features. In this study, the species specif icity of isolation calls was shown in hamster pups. It would seem that the species specificity originates in the differences of sensitivity to cold st ress via the autonomic nerve in hamsters.