Locomotion in Kangaroo Rats and Its Adaptive Significance

Bartholomew, George A.; Caswell, Hal

doi:10.2307/1375371

Cited by 135 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…(Effectively, the tail could contact and penetrate the ground with no effect on the animat.) We expected solutions to instead use the tail as a counterbalance to angular momentum, consistent with a prevailing hypothesis in biology (Bartholomew and Caswell, 1951;Alexander and Vernon, 1975;Libby et al, 2012). Instead, the results from all replicate runs tended towards bounding gaits similar to those in Treatment 1.…”

Section: Ecal -General Tracksupporting

confidence: 70%

“…In biology, it is generally agreed that an important function of the tail is to counter the angular momentum of the body, discouraging body pitch changes over the hopping period (Bartholomew and Caswell, 1951;Libby et al, 2012). Since we had based the animat's morphology on the kangaroo rat, we were curious what solutions would be discovered if tail length and tail mass were allowed to evolve.…”

Section: Ecal -General Trackmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the Role of the Tail in Bipedal Hopping through Computational Evolution

Moore

Gutmann

McGowan

et al. 2013

Advances in Artificial Life, ECAL 2013

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Bipedal hopping has evolved as a mode of terrestrial locomotion in relatively few mammalian species. Despite large differences in body size, habitat use, and having evolved independently, all species that use bipedal hopping have remarkably similar limb morphology and posture. In addition, these species all have relatively long tails, presumably to assist in maintaining stability. However, the evolution of this behavior, and specifically the role of the tail, is not well understood. In this paper, we explore the evolution of bipedal hopping in a simulated animat, using a relatively simple musculoskeletal model and a rigid-body physics simulation environment. Results indicate that characteristically different hopping gaits evolve with alterations to the morphology, including the structure and actuation of the tail. Many of the the results are consistent with behaviors and morphologies observed in natural organisms. However, in some cases effective hopping evolved despite key differences from nature, potentially inspiring new design approaches in robotic and biomechanical systems.

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Section: Ecal -General Tracksupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Ecal -General Trackmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Role of the Tail in Bipedal Hopping through Computational Evolution

Moore

Gutmann

McGowan

et al. 2013

Advances in Artificial Life, ECAL 2013

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“…Most of the San Joaquin Valley is desert (Germano et al 2011),with non-native grasses invading the area about 2 centuries ago. Dense grass and forb cover may hinder the movements of kangaroo rats (Bartholomew & Caswell 1951, O'Farrell & Uptain 1987 and can lead to their extirpation at a site ). Also, it is possible that dense herbaceous cover interferes with foraging (Brock & Kelt 2004), because heteromyid rodents primarily harvest seeds off of the soil surface (Price & Joyner 1997) by scratch digging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survivorship and reproduction of translocated Tipton kangaroo rats in the San Joaquin Valley, California

Germano¹,

Saslaw²,

Smith³

et al. 2013

Endang. Species. Res.

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A potential means of mitigating the impact that development has on animals is to move affected individuals to new areas where development will not occur or to release individuals back to a site after activities have ceased. In the case of translocation, the desired outcome is that the majority of the translocated individuals will survive and reproduce in a new, uninhabited and protected site, such that there is no net loss of endangered animals. Because of project displacement, we moved 144 Tipton kangaroo rats Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides, a state and federally listed endangered species, to a preserve north of Bakersfield, California, USA, in December 2006 that had no Tipton kangaroo rats, but was known habitat. To help determine short-term survivorship, we radio-tracked 22 individuals for 30 d post-release. We placed 14 radio-collared kangaroo rats in cages with artificial burrows (soft release) on site and 8 radio-collared individuals in artificial burrows without cages (hard release). We placed all other kangaroo rats in artificial burrows with (n = 86) or without (n = 36) cages. The percentage survivorship of radio-tagged kangaroo rats that were soft-released (58.3%) was greater than that of radio-tagged animals hard-released (37.5%), but the differences were not significant. Trapping over 3 yr showed a small, but persistent, population of Tipton kangaroo rats. We caught 38 new Tipton kangaroo rats in these 3 yr. Based on an AMOVA of genotypic data from 2 microsatellite loci of Tipton kangaroo rats translocated to the site, unmarked young caught on site are consistent with being offspring of the translocated animals. Future research should address the value of caging kangaroo rats on sites prior to release, the relative merit of short-term removal of competing species, and appropriate habitat management strategies.

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“…They travel at average speeds from 3 to over 6 kph (Reichman and Kaufrnan, 1983). They can hop at 32 kph when fleeing a predator, traveling in an erratic path (Bartholomew and Caswell, 1951) and can jump to heights over 1 m. Perognathus are quadrupedal and travel more slowly (1.76 kph for P. longimembris).…”

Section: Foraging and Predator Avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Olfaction is used predominantly in identifying food, followed by tactile cues, with little reliance on vision (Reichman and Oberstein, 1977;Lawhon and Hafner, 1981;Eisenberg, 1963a;Bartholomew and Caswell, 1951). Kangaroo rats in the laboratory can detect food in loose soil to depths of almost 8 cm (Reichman and Oberstein, 1977).…”

Section: Foraging and Predator Avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Low-Altitude Aircraft Overflights on the Desert Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis arsipus) and its Small Mammal Prey on the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, Arizona, 1991-1994

Bowles¹,

Francine²,

Yaeger³

et al. 1995

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Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Devis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 222024302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (07040188), Washington, DC 20503. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank)2. REPORT DATE February 1995 REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVEREDFinal -November 1990 to February 1995 TITLE AND SUBTITLEEffects of Low-Altitude Aircraft Overflights on the Desert Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis arsipus) and its Small Mammal Prey on the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, Arizona, 1991-1994 Ann E. Bowles,%hn Francine,*Samantha Wisely,*! Scott Yaegef*;*Lee McClenaghan Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)Hubbs 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)There has been public concern that wildlife could be affected by military training activities. Of particular interest was the hypothesis that noise from military aircraft would disrupt the ecological balance between predator and prey by giving one or the other an advantage. To gauge these effects, this study was conducted under an Air Force Range in an area receiving levels of exposure higher than normally encountered under a Military Training Route. A nearby control site was exposed to much lower levels of noise. Noise monitors recorded actual exposure, and hearing of one heteromyid species, the kangaroo rat, was measured in situ. A total of 14,455 trap-nights were spent monitoring nocturnal small mammal communities on exposed and control plots. Rodent species diversity, numbers, reproductive activity, recruitment, mean weights, and survival were measured. The kit fox, a predator, was also examined. Although differences were uncovered between kit fox and smal mammal populations between the control and exposed areas, none was large, and none was at odds with the most parsimonious natural explanations. If the effects observed are assumed to be the result of aircraft noise exposure, the consequences to rodents and fox populations were smaller in magnitude than the natural variability observed during the course of the study.14. SUBJECT TERMS acoustics, noise effects, noise impacts, ecological balance, desert kit fox Reproductive activity in male (top) and female (bottom) Chaetodipus penicillatus on exposed and control plots on the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, Arizona. ... 81 igure 5-10 Seasonal rates of recruitment for Dipodomys merriami on exposed and control plots on the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, Arizona 82 igure 5-11 Seasonal rates of recruitment for Perognath...

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Locomotion in Kangaroo Rats and Its Adaptive Significance

Cited by 135 publications

References 5 publications

Exploring the Role of the Tail in Bipedal Hopping through Computational Evolution

Exploring the Role of the Tail in Bipedal Hopping through Computational Evolution

Survivorship and reproduction of translocated Tipton kangaroo rats in the San Joaquin Valley, California

Effects of Low-Altitude Aircraft Overflights on the Desert Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis arsipus) and its Small Mammal Prey on the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, Arizona, 1991-1994

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