Seismic communication between the burrows of kangaroo rats, Dipodomys spectabilis

Randall, Jan A.; Lewis, Edwin R.

doi:10.1007/s003590050136

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…In spatial orientation (seismic 'echolocation'), as presented in this study, the waves travel in the soil for short distances (tens of centimetres), while in social seismic communication (Rado et al, 1987;Randall et al, 1997;Heth et al, 1987;Narins et al, 1992) the waves travel a distance of several to tens of meters, suggesting that different amplification systems might be required for the different tasks.…”

Section: Perception and Localization Of Seismic Waves Through The Animentioning

confidence: 66%

Evidence for the use of reflected self-generated seismic waves for spatial orientation in a blind subterranean mammal

Kimchi

Reshef

Terkel

2005

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Erratum Kimchi, T., Reshef, M. and Terkel, J. (2005). Evidence for the use of reflected self-generated seismic waves for spatial orientation in a blind subterranean mammal. J. Exp. Biol. 208,[647][648][649][650][651][652][653][654][655][656][657][658][659] In the first on-line version of this paper, published on 4 January 2005, an incorrect version of Fig. 5 was published. The error has been rectified and the current on-line version and print versions of the figure are correct.In addition, in the first on-line version of the paper, Fig. 1 was published in black and white instead of in colour. This has also been rectified in the current on-line version and the print version is correct. 647The blind mole-rat is a solitary subterranean rodent that digs and inhabits its own branching tunnel system, which it does not leave unless forced to (e.g. if water floods its tunnels). In nature the mole-rat encounters different types of obstacles that block and disconnect sections of its tunnel. In a recent field study using various open ditches and wood or stone obstacles we found that mole-rats are able to detect the presence of obstacles blocking their tunnel path and burrow a highly efficient detour to accurately rejoin the two disconnected parts of the tunnel. The mole-rats used two different bypass strategies, depending on the size of the ditch encountered: a bypass around short ditches, or a bypass under long (over 300·cm length) ditches (Kimchi and Terkel, 2003a). The physical properties of the encountered obstacles affected the burrowing distance from the obstacle edge: (a) for open ditches, a side bypass 10-20·cm from the obstacle boundaries; or (b) for wood or stone obstacles, a side bypass 3-8·cm from the obstacle boundaries. When the obstacle was placed asymmetrically across the tunnel, the mole-rats always burrowed their bypass around the shorter side, while they showed no preference for a particular side in symmetrically placed ditches (Kimchi and Terkel, 2003b). These findings demonstrated the mole-rat's ability to estimate the size and shape of the obstacle, its own exact position relative to the obstacle boundaries and even the obstacle's density, through the soil medium. Subterranean mammals like the blind mole-rat (Rodentia: Spalax ehrenbergi) are functionally blind and possess poor auditory sensitivity, limited to low-frequency sounds. Nevertheless, the mole-rat demonstrates extremely efficient ability to orient spatially. A previous field study has revealed that the mole-rat can assess the location, size and density of an underground obstacle, and accordingly excavates the most efficient bypass tunnel to detour around the obstacles. In the present study we used a multidisciplinary approach to examine the possibility that the mole-rat estimates the location and physical properties of underground obstacles using reflected self-generated seismic waves (seismic 'echolocation').Our field observations revealed that all the monitored mole-rats produced low-frequency seismic waves (250-300·Hz) at intervals of 8±5...

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Section: Perception and Localization Of Seismic Waves Through The Animentioning

confidence: 66%

Evidence for the use of reflected self-generated seismic waves for spatial orientation in a blind subterranean mammal

Kimchi

Reshef

Terkel

2005

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Most of the energy in the airborne part of the signal is between 200 Hz and 2 kHz (Randall, 1984). The foot-drums made by a signalling animal can be transmitted between neighbouring burrow systems, whereupon they radiate out into the burrow chamber (Randall & Lewis, 1997). Footdrumming is also characteristic of gerbils, including Meriones and Gerbillurus species (Lay, 1974;Swanson, 1974;Daly & Daly, 1975;Bridelance & Paillette, 1985;Bridelance, 1986;Dempster & Perrin, 1989), although G. setzeri only appears to 'shiver' its hindquarters and does not produce an audible sound (Dempster & Perrin, 1989).…”

Section: Detection Of Seismic Signalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and function of the mammalian middle ear. I: Large middle ears in small desert mammals

Mason

2015

Journal of Anatomy

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Many species of small desert mammals are known to have expanded auditory bullae. The ears of gerbils and heteromyids have been well described, but much less is known about the middle ear anatomy of other desert mammals. In this study, the middle ears of three gerbils (Meriones, Desmodillus and Gerbillurus), two jerboas (Jaculus) and two sengis (elephant-shrews: Macroscelides and Elephantulus) were examined and compared, using micro-computed tomography and light microscopy. Middle ear cavity expansion has occurred in members of all three groups, apparently in association with an essentially 'freely mobile' ossicular morphology and the development of bony tubes for the middle ear arteries. Cavity expansion can occur in different ways, resulting in different subcavity patterns even between different species of gerbils. Having enlarged middle ear cavities aids low-frequency audition, and several adaptive advantages of low-frequency hearing to small desert mammals have been proposed. However, while Macroscelides was found here to have middle ear cavities so large that together they exceed brain volume, the bullae of Elephantulus are considerably smaller. Why middle ear cavities are enlarged in some desert species but not others remains unclear, but it may relate to microhabitat.

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“…At least some extant rodents (e.g., California kangaroo rats) use low-frequency seismic "footdrumming" as a method of communication between burrows to mark territorial boundaries and to notify predatory snakes that their presence has been discovered (Randall, 1997;Randall and Lewis, 1997;Randall and Matocq, 1997). As both snakes and rodents have the ability to detect and respond to these vibrations, and sensory systems are in general highly conserved, the ability to detect these low-frequency signals was probably present in the last common ancestor of reptiles and mammals.…”

Section: Has a Seismic Escape Or "Early Warning" Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Earthquake Prediction by Animals: Evolution and Sensory Perception

Kirschvink¹

2000

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

104

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Animals living within seismically active regions are subjected episodically to intense ground shaking that can kill individuals through burrow collapse, egg destruction, and tsunami action. Although anecdotal and retrospective reports of animal behavior suggest that although many organisms may be able to detect an impending seismic event, no plausible scenario has been presented yet through which accounts for the evolution of such behaviors. The evolutionary mechanism of exaptation can do this in a two-step process. The first step is to evolve a vibrationtriggered early warning response which would act in the short time interval between the arrival of P and S waves. Anecdotal evidence suggests this response already exists. Then if precursory stimuli also exist, similar evolutionary processes can link an animal's perception of these stimuli to its P-wave triggered response, yielding an earthquake predictive behavior. A population-genetic model indicates that such a seismic-escape response system can be maintained against random mutations as a result of episodic selection that operates with time scales comparable to that of strong seismic events. Hence, additional understanding of possible earthquake precursors that are presently outside the realm of seismology might be gleaned from the study of animal behavior, sensory physiology, and genetics. A brief review of possible seismic precursors suggests that tilt, hygroreception (humidity), electric, and magnetic sensory systems in animals could be linked into a seismic escape behavioral system. Several testable predictions of this analysis are discussed, and it is recommended that additional magnetic, electrical, tilt, and hygro-sensors be incorporated into dense monitoring networks in seismically active regions.

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Seismic communication between the burrows of kangaroo rats, Dipodomys spectabilis

Cited by 28 publications

References 30 publications

Evidence for the use of reflected self-generated seismic waves for spatial orientation in a blind subterranean mammal

Evidence for the use of reflected self-generated seismic waves for spatial orientation in a blind subterranean mammal

Structure and function of the mammalian middle ear. I: Large middle ears in small desert mammals

Earthquake Prediction by Animals: Evolution and Sensory Perception

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