Two pup vocalization types are genetically and functionally separable in deer mice

Vocalization is a widespread social behavior in vertebrates that can affect fitness in the wild. Although many vocal behaviors are highly conserved, heritable features of specific vocalization types can vary both within and between species, raising questions of why and how some vocal behaviors evolve. Here, using new computational tools to automatically detect and cluster vocalizations into distinct acoustic categories, we compare pup isolation calls across neonatal development in eight taxa of deer mice (genus Peromyscus) and compare them with laboratory mice (C57BL6/J strain) and free-living, wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus). Whereas both Peromyscus and Mus pups produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), Peromyscus pups also produce a second call type with acoustic features, temporal rhythms, and developmental trajectories that are distinct from those of USVs. In deer mice, these lower frequency “cries” are predominantly emitted in postnatal days one through nine, whereas USVs ..., , , ## Peromyscus pup vocal evolution Dataset

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## Versions

* April 2024: file developmentMU.tar.gz reuploaded to resolve issue with original file

## How to use

This dataset contains raw audio recordings and processed data used to perform analyses and generate figures from Jourjine et al. Current Biology 2023

The files are stored in compressed directories. To uncompress them, double click on them or run the following in the command line `tar -xvf full/path/to/file.tar.gz`

The contents of these directories are described below. Please see the github repository `https://github.com/nickjourjine/peromyscus-pup-vocal-evolution` for code and instructions about how to use them to reproduce analyses and figures.

### Two-letter codes

We use the following two-letter codes as short hand to refer to each taxon we analyze:

| code | taxon |
| ---- | ------------------------------------ |
| BW | *P. maniculatus bairdii* |
| BK | *P. maniculatus g...