TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of exogenous manipulation of glucocorticoid concentrations on meerkat heart rate, behaviour and vocal production
AU - Driscoll, Isabel
AU - Briefer, Elodie F.
AU - Ganswindt, Andre
AU - Manser, Marta B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Encoding of emotional arousal in vocalisations is commonly observed in the animal kingdom, and provides a rapid means of information transfer about an individual's affective responses to internal and external stimuli. As a result, assessing affective arousal-related variation in the acoustic structure of vocalisations can provide insight into how animals perceive both internal and external stimuli, and how this is, in turn, communicated to con- or heterospecifics. However, the underlying physiological mechanisms driving arousal-related acoustic variation remains unclear. One potential driver of such variation in behaviour and vocal production are glucocorticoids. Through exogenous glucocorticoid manipulation, we aimed to gain insight on the relationship between arousal and physiological parameters, behaviour and vocal production in wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta). To this aim, we administered glucocorticoids to wild meerkats, and recorded their heart rate, vigilance behaviour, call rate and acoustic structure during natural behavioural contexts. The results suggest that, although the glucocorticoid treatment did increase plasma glucocorticoid levels, this did not result in observable changes in heart rate, vigilance, or vocal production. This lack of treatment effect suggests that, while glucocorticoids may be a significant component and correlate of the arousal response, they are not the direct drivers of affective arousal related changes in heart rate, behaviour, or vocal production.
AB - Encoding of emotional arousal in vocalisations is commonly observed in the animal kingdom, and provides a rapid means of information transfer about an individual's affective responses to internal and external stimuli. As a result, assessing affective arousal-related variation in the acoustic structure of vocalisations can provide insight into how animals perceive both internal and external stimuli, and how this is, in turn, communicated to con- or heterospecifics. However, the underlying physiological mechanisms driving arousal-related acoustic variation remains unclear. One potential driver of such variation in behaviour and vocal production are glucocorticoids. Through exogenous glucocorticoid manipulation, we aimed to gain insight on the relationship between arousal and physiological parameters, behaviour and vocal production in wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta). To this aim, we administered glucocorticoids to wild meerkats, and recorded their heart rate, vigilance behaviour, call rate and acoustic structure during natural behavioural contexts. The results suggest that, although the glucocorticoid treatment did increase plasma glucocorticoid levels, this did not result in observable changes in heart rate, vigilance, or vocal production. This lack of treatment effect suggests that, while glucocorticoids may be a significant component and correlate of the arousal response, they are not the direct drivers of affective arousal related changes in heart rate, behaviour, or vocal production.
KW - Animal communication
KW - Emotional arousal
KW - Glucocorticoid concentrations
KW - Vocalisations
U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105676
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2025.105676
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39824046
AN - SCOPUS:85215123440
VL - 168
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
SN - 0018-506X
M1 - 105676
ER -