Dataset: Sex differences in the impact of social relationships on individual vocal signatures in grey mouse lemurs

Dataset used in the statistical analysis of the publication "Sex differences in the impact of social relationships on individual vocal signatures in grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)"

Abstract

Vocalizations coordinate social interactions between conspecifics by conveying information concerning the individual or group identity of the sender. Social accommodation is a form of vocal learning where social affinity is signalled by converging or diverging vocalizations to those of conspecifics. To investigate whether social accommodation is linked to the social lifestyle of the sender, we investigated sex-specific differences in social accommodation in a dispersed living primate, the grey mouse lemur, where females form stable sleeping groups whereas males live solitarily. We used 482 trill calls of 36 individuals from our captive breeding colony to compare acoustic dissimilarity between individuals with genetic relatedness, social contact time and body weight. Our results showed that female trills become more similar the more time females spend with each other independent of genetic relationship, suggesting vocal convergence. In contrast, male trills were affected more by genetic than social factors. However, focussing only on socialized males, male trills diverged from each other the more time males were cage partners. Thus, grey mouse lemurs show the capacity for social accommodation, with females converging their trills to signal social closeness to sleeping group partners, whereas males do not adapt or diverge their trills to signal individual distinctiveness. 

For details concerning the recording of the trills confer to the publication at doi: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0193