Drumming is a non-vocal auditory display producing airborne as well as seismic vibrations by tapping body extremities on a surface. It is mostly described as an alarm signal but is also discussed to signal dominance or mating quality. To clarify the function of drumming in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), we compared the occurrence of drumming during predator, opposite-sex and same-sex encounters. We tested 48 captive Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) in three experiments. In predator experiments, subjects were exposed alone or with their cagemate to aerial and terrestrial predator dummies. In social encounter experiments, familiar and unfamiliar male–female dyads and same-sex dyads were confronted. For the same-sex encounters, a dominance index was calculated for each subject based on the number of won and lost conflicts. Drumming and drumming-call combinations were counted, and a multi-parametric sound analysis was performed. In all experiments drumming and drumming-call combinations occurred. In predator experiments, more subjects drummed when confronted with the predator stimulus than in the habituation phase. In social encounter experiments, more subjects drummed when facing an unfamiliar than a familiar conspecific. In addition, the accompanying call type and body posture of the sender differed between experiments. Thus, we suggest that whereas drumming signals an increased arousal state of the sender, the accompanying call type and the body posture signal context specific information.

中文翻译：

---

情境还是唤醒？蒙古沙鼠（Meriones unguiculatus）的击鼓功能


击鼓是一种非声音听觉表现，通过在表面上敲击身体四肢来产生空气振动和地震振动。它主要被描述为警报信号，但也被讨论为表示优势或交配质量的信号。为了阐明蒙古沙鼠（Meriones unguiculatus）击鼓的功能，我们比较了捕食者、异性和同性遭遇时击鼓的发生情况。我们在三个实验中测试了 48 只圈养蒙古沙鼠 (Meriones unguiculatus)。在捕食者实验中，受试者单独或与笼中同伴一起暴露于空中和陆地捕食者假人。在社交遭遇实验中，我们面对熟悉和陌生的男女二人组和同性二人组。对于同性遭遇，根据获胜和失败的冲突数量计算每个受试者的优势指数。对击鼓和击鼓-呼叫组合进行计数，并进行多参数声音分析。在所有实验中都发生了击鼓和击鼓-叫声的组合。在捕食者实验中，更多的受试者在面对捕食者刺激时比在习惯阶段敲鼓。在社交遭遇实验中，更多的受试者在面对不熟悉的人时打鼓，而不是面对熟悉的同类。此外，实验之间伴随的呼叫类型和发送者的身体姿势也有所不同。因此，我们认为击鼓表示发送者的唤醒状态增加，而伴随的呼叫类型和身体姿势则表示上下文特定信息。