DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pj891
title: Data from: Deer mothers are sensitive to infant distress vocalizations of diverse mammalian species

description: Acoustic structure, behavioral context, and caregiver responses to infant
 distress vocalizations (cries) are similar across mammals, including
 humans. Are these similarities enough for animals to respond to distress
 vocalizations of taxonomically and ecologically distant species? We show
 that mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus
 virginianus) mothers approach a speaker playing distress vocalizations of
 infant marmots (Marmota flaviventris), seals (Neophoca cinerea and
 Arctocephalus tropicalis), domestic cats (Felis catus), bats
 (Lasionycteris noctivagans), humans (Homo sapiens), and other mammals if
 the fundamental frequency (F0) falls or is manipulated to fall within the
 frequency range in which deer respond to young of their own species. They
 did not approach to predator sounds or to control sounds having the same
 F0 but a different structure. Our results suggest that acoustic traits of
 infant distress vocalizations that are essential for a response by
 caregivers, and a caregiver’s sensitivity to these acoustic traits, may be
 shared across diverse mammals.
description: Figure 2, Panels A,B,C:
 Response of mule deer females to infant distress vocalizations and
 selected control stimuli.Data in this file
 represent the response of mule deer females (panels A, B, C) to infant
 distress vocalizations of diverse mammalian species and selected control
 stimuli. Female responses to narrow band white noise (white noise NB,
 400-1500 Hz) are included in the data set, but are not shown in fig. 2 due
 to the lack of a mean F0 for that stimulus. Data columns include: Column
 A: Species & call type: This column includes the species name and the
 type of stimulus including unmanipulated (UM) distress calls, F0-shifted
 distress calls (F0S, F0 manipulated by multiplying F0 by a certain
 factor)) and RS distress calls (distress calls with the F0 manipulated by
 overriding the sampling frequency). Column B: Species & Call Type
 lumped: When certain species were pooled in figure 2, this column shows
 the lumped category including “other ungulates” for ungulates except for
 mule deer and eland; and “pinniped” for fur seal and sea lions. Column C.
 Individual: This column lists the identity of the animal producing the
 sound stimulus. Column D. Mean F0: The mean fundamental frequency (mean
 F0) of the call in Hz. Column E. Jitter: due to overlapping values, it was
 necessary to jitter the data on the x-axis so that the overlapping calls
 would be visible in figure 2. This column shows the specific extent to
 which values were jittered. Data are represented on a log scale, making it
 necessary to apply a larger numerical ‘jitter’ when the mean F0 was
 higher. Values were not jittered on the y-axis. Column F. Mean F0 jittered
 (x): Mean F0 in Hz once jitter is taken into account. This column shows
 data for the x-axis. Column G. Female response (y): This column shows data
 for the y-axis. See corresponding publication for details on the response
 scale. For MD (mule deer) 0.2 to 1.8-F0S entries (see Columns A and B),
 median values for female responses to manipulated mule deer calls were
 obtained from Teichroeb, L. J., T. Riede, R. Kotrba, and S. Lingle. 2013.
 Fundamental frequency is key to response of female deer to juvenile
 distress calls. Behavioural Processes 92:15– 23.Fig2_ABC_Data.xlsxFigure 2, Panel D: Response of white-tailed deer females to infant distress vocalizations and selected control stimuli.Data in this file represent the response of white-tailed deer females (fig 2, D) to infant distress vocalizations of diverse mammalian species and selected control stimuli. Data columns include: Column A: Species & call type: This column includes the species name and the type of stimulus including unmanipulated (UM) distress calls, F0-shifted distress calls (F0S, F0 manipulated by multiplying F0 by a certain factor), RS distress calls (distress calls with the F0 manipulated by overriding the sampling frequency) and certain control stimuli (meadowlark song). Column B. Individual: This column lists the identity of the animal producing the sound stimulus. Column C. Mean F0: The mean fundamental frequency (mean F0) of the call in Hz. Column D. Jitter: due to overlapping values, it was necessary to jitter the data on the x-axis so that the overlapping calls would be visible in figure 2. This column shows the specific extent to which values were jittered. Data are represented on a log scale, making it necessary to apply a larger numerical ‘jitter’ when the mean F0 was higher. Values were not jittered on the y-axis. Column E. Mean F0 jittered (x): Mean F0 in Hz once jitter is taken into account. This column shows data for the x-axis. Column G. Female response (y): This column shows data for the y-axis. See corresponding publication for details on the response scale. For WT (white-tailed deer) 0.2 to 2.0-F0S entries (see Column A), median values for female responses to manipulated white-tailed deer calls were obtained from Teichroeb, L. J., T. Riede, R. Kotrba, and S. Lingle. 2013. Fundamental frequency is key to response of female deer to juvenile distress calls. Behavioural Processes 92:15– 23.Fig2_D_Data.xlsxFigure 4: Response of mule deer females to natural mule deer distress calls, synthesized mule deer distress calls and sine wave stimuli.We (Tobias Riede and Susan Lingle) modeled synthesized mule deer (MD) distress calls using parameters measured from natural distress calls (described in publication). We created sine wave stimuli that had the same mean F0 as the natural and synthesized distress calls. The sine wave stimuli had no additional harmonics and were longer (5 s in length). These stimuli were played to mule deer mothers in the field in summer 2013. Data were collected by video and audio-recording female responses. Data were transcribed from video and audio and entered into an excel spreadsheet. Data columns represent: Column A: Type of call = Natural MD (mule deer), Synthesized MD or Sine MD Column B: Specific call refers to the individual producing the call or upon which the stimulus was prepared. Column C: Mean fundamental frequency (mean F0) for the sound stimulus. Column D: Distance between female and speaker at the start of the trial. Column E: Closest distance the female came to the speaker, for females that approached the speaker (na or not applicable if a female did not approach). Column F: Basic response of female. Possibilities include: Retreat; No response; Intermittent alert, Continual alert, Approach. Column G: Female’s ehaviour close to speaker. If a female approached within 10 m of the speaker, did she remain within that distance for at least 10 s? Yes (y), No, or na (not applicable). Column H: Mule deer response coded. The number is based on the general response, the distance to which the female approached, and whether she remained close to the speaker if she came within 10 m. See corresponding publication for details.Figure4_Data.xlsxData used for logistic regression analyses (female response relative to acoustic traits) shown in Table B2, in the main text and figure 3.This excel file includes data used for logistic regression analyses of the relationship between acoustic traits, starting distance to speaker, number of females per group, and the female’s response. Rows 1-63 (Row number as per Column A) show responses of mule deer females to distress vocalizations made by species other than mule deer. Rows 96-100 present data for mule deer responses to natural mule deer distress calls. Rows 64-95 and to mule deer calls for which the F0 was manipulated. Data in rows are from Teichroeb, L. J., T. Riede, R. Kotrba, and S. Lingle. 2013. Fundamental frequency is key to response of female deer to juvenile distress calls. Behavioural Processes 92:15– 23. Mean F0, female starting distance and female response, but no other predictor variables, were included for data from Teichroeb et al. (2013). Column A: Row number to identify each trial. Column B: Taxonomic order of the animal producing the sound used in the trial. Column C: Species of the animal producing the sound used in the trial. Column D: Call type. UM = unmanipulated calls; F0S = calls for which the F0 was shifted by multiplying the mean F0 by a certain factor; RS = calls for which the F0 was shifted by overriding the sampling frequency. Column E: Caller ID. Identity of individual producing the call. Colume F: No. Females. Number of females in the subject’s group at the start of the trial. Column G: Starting distance, code. Distance between female and speaker at the start of the trial, identified as a code. 2 = 50 -75 m; 3 = 75-100 m; 4 = 100-125 m; 5 = 125-150 m; 6 = 150-200 m; 7 = 200-250; 8 = &gt;250 m. Column H: Mean F0 (kHz) Column I: Maximum F0 (kHz) Column J: Range F0/Mean F0 Column K: Call duration (s) Column L: Max dominant harmonic (Hz) Column M: Lowest of the three dominant harmonics (Hz), ranked by frequency Column N: Middle of the three dominant harmonics (Hz), ranked by frequency Column O: Highest of the three dominant harmonics (Hz), ranked by frequency Column P: Maximum dominant harmonic (kHz) Column Q: A principal component formed by the three dominant harmonics (columns M, N, O). Column R: Noise scored as a binary variable, showing presence or absence. Column S: Female response scored as a binary variable. Responses of 5 through 9 were considered moderate to strong responses and scored as “1”. Alert behaviour and approaches &lt;25 m were scored as 0. See corresponding publication for details.TableB2_StatisticalAnalysis_Data.xlsx