Communication at the Garden Fence--Context Dependent Vocalization in Female House Mice.

House mice (Mus musculus) live in social groups where they frequently interact with conspecifics, thus communication (e.g. chemical and/or auditory) is essential. It is commonly known that male and female mice produce complex vocalizations in the ultrasonic range (USV) that remind of high-pitched birdsong (so called mouse song) which is mainly used in social interactions. Earlier studies suggest that mice use their USVs for mate attraction and mate choice, but they could also be used as signal during hierarchy establishment and familiarization, or other communication purposes. In this study we elucidated the vocalization behaviour of interacting female mice over an extended period of time under semi-natural conditions. We asked, if the rate or structure of female vocalization differs between different social and non-social contexts. We found that female USV is mainly used in social contexts, driven by direct communication to an unknown individual, the rate of which is decreased over time by a familiarization process. In addition we could show that female mice use two distinct types of USVs, differing in their frequency, which they use differently depending on whether they directly or indirectly communicate with another female. This supports the notion that vocalization in mice is context dependent, driven by a reasonable and yet underestimated amount of complexity that also involves the interplay between different sensory signals, like chemical and auditory cues.