Thomas, D. A., Talalas, L., & Barfield, R. J. (1981). Effect of devocalization of the male on mating behavior in rats. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 95(4), 630-637.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0077803
Three experiments investigated the effects of devocalization of male rats on the copulatory behavior of 33 male and 9 female Long-Evans rats. No differences in any measure of masculine copulatory performance were found between vocalizing and muted males; however, estrous females mated with vocalizing males exhibited more frequent darting behavior than females mated with muted males. Females paired with vocalizing males in a tether apparatus exhibited more patterns of proceptive behavior per unit of time than did females paired with devocalized males, although the temporal distribution of this behavior, with respect to mounts by males, was unchanged. Conversely, patterns of receptive behavior were unaffected by devocalization of the male. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)