It has been known since the 1950s that rodents communicate via ultrasonic sounds in the chirp range that are inaudible to the human ear. However, bioacoustics experts at the University of Buffalo have come to an unexpected conclusion: there is another purpose for emitting ultrasonic sounds, which is to increase olfactory sensitivity.
The reason ultrasound is emitted is to move and excite the environment in front of the animal – so the particles that are moved can reach the nose more easily.
This phenomenon had never been observed before, and I don't think they suspected its existence
– said psychology professor Eduardo Mercado, who discovered the special process.
It's so powerful it's like you see Jedi rats. It's like magic
He added.
An expert on fin whale songs, Mercado has become involved in studying rodent vocalizations. He was fascinated by the inconsistency in the ultrasound vocalization notes. They appear to be male mice
It is not only used to call females.
Rodents rely on their vision to explore their environment, while they use their whiskers to constantly touch and smell. Mercado noted that ultrasound emission is always followed by inhalation.
This may be incidental, but there may also be a functional connection. I knew that sonic vibrations could use ultrasound vibrations to move floating particles into one place, and I immediately thought that maybe animals could do that too.
According to Mercado, mice use their voice in a vibro-acoustic manner to arrange floating particles in different patterns, so that when they float in one place, it becomes easier to inhale and smell them.
A short video about acoustic levitation can be watched below:
Specialists confirmed that mice are the secret heroes of scientific research. Their special ability is an important addition to understanding the evolution of smell, on which many critical functions of thinking, attention and memory depend.
(Phys.org, University at Buffalo)
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