The atmospheric environment of the fossorial mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi): Effects of season, soil texture, rain, temperature and activity

Microclimatic stability in burrows of an Afrotropical solitary bathyergid rodent, the silvery mole‐rat ( Heliophobius argenteocinereus )

“…Oxygen concentrations in the burrows were only slightly lower than those outside. This is surprising because the burrow atmosphere is generally considered hypoxic (McNab, 1966;Darden, 1972;Arieli, 1979;Boggs, Kilgore & Birchard, 1984). Our results, however, are consistent with the findings of a recent study on the burrows of Georychus capensis and Cryptomys damarensis, where a mean oxygen concentration of 20.4% (i.e.…”

Microclimatic stability in burrows of an Afrotropical solitary bathyergid rodent, the silvery mole‐rat ( Heliophobius argenteocinereus )

“…Oxygen concentrations in the burrows were only slightly lower than those outside. This is surprising because the burrow atmosphere is generally considered hypoxic (McNab, 1966;Darden, 1972;Arieli, 1979;Boggs, Kilgore & Birchard, 1984). Our results, however, are consistent with the findings of a recent study on the burrows of Georychus capensis and Cryptomys damarensis, where a mean oxygen concentration of 20.4% (i.e.…”

Carbon dioxide concentrations and nest ventilation in nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri

“…Due to the solubility of CO 2 in water in the soil, the measured increase in CO 2 concentration may lead to an underestimation of the actual rate of CO 2 production by the colony. Consequently, even much lower O 2 concentrations may indeed occur in the nests than those expected from the CO 2 measurements, as shown for burrows of the mole rat (Arieli, 1979).…”

Comparative morphometric analysis of lungs of the semifossorial giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) and the subterranean Nigerian mole rat (Cryptomys foxi)

“…Astonishingly, some animals living under such conditions can still perform the strenuous activity of digging 63,[84][85][86] . The O 2 tension which S. ehrenbergi tolerates is well-below that which exists at the top of Mount Everest and the CO 2 tension is 200 times greater than that in the free atmosphere 23,29,87 . The naked mole rat, H. glaber, can tolerate five hour exposure to 80% CO 2 concentration and 18 minutes of anoxia without suffering perceptible injury 88 .…”

Microclimatic stability in burrows of an Afrotropical solitary bathyergid rodent, the silvery mole‐rat ( Heliophobius argenteocinereus )

“…Oxygen concentrations in the burrows were only slightly lower than those outside. This is surprising because the burrow atmosphere is generally considered hypoxic (McNab, 1966;Darden, 1972;Arieli, 1979;Boggs, Kilgore & Birchard, 1984). Our results, however, are consistent with the findings of a recent study on the burrows of Georychus capensis and Cryptomys damarensis, where a mean oxygen concentration of 20.4% (i.e.…”

Carbon dioxide concentrations and nest ventilation in nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri

“…Due to the solubility of CO 2 in water in the soil, the measured increase in CO 2 concentration may lead to an underestimation of the actual rate of CO 2 production by the colony. Consequently, even much lower O 2 concentrations may indeed occur in the nests than those expected from the CO 2 measurements, as shown for burrows of the mole rat (Arieli, 1979).…”

Comparative morphometric analysis of lungs of the semifossorial giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) and the subterranean Nigerian mole rat (Cryptomys foxi)

“…Astonishingly, some animals living under such conditions can still perform the strenuous activity of digging 63,[84][85][86] . The O 2 tension which S. ehrenbergi tolerates is well-below that which exists at the top of Mount Everest and the CO 2 tension is 200 times greater than that in the free atmosphere 23,29,87 . The naked mole rat, H. glaber, can tolerate five hour exposure to 80% CO 2 concentration and 18 minutes of anoxia without suffering perceptible injury 88 .…”

Microclimatic stability in burrows of an Afrotropical solitary bathyergid rodent, the silvery mole‐rat ( Heliophobius argenteocinereus )

“…Oxygen concentrations in the burrows were only slightly lower than those outside. This is surprising because the burrow atmosphere is generally considered hypoxic (McNab, 1966;Darden, 1972;Arieli, 1979;Boggs, Kilgore & Birchard, 1984). Our results, however, are consistent with the findings of a recent study on the burrows of Georychus capensis and Cryptomys damarensis, where a mean oxygen concentration of 20.4% (i.e.…”

Carbon dioxide concentrations and nest ventilation in nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri

“…Due to the solubility of CO 2 in water in the soil, the measured increase in CO 2 concentration may lead to an underestimation of the actual rate of CO 2 production by the colony. Consequently, even much lower O 2 concentrations may indeed occur in the nests than those expected from the CO 2 measurements, as shown for burrows of the mole rat (Arieli, 1979).…”

Comparative morphometric analysis of lungs of the semifossorial giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) and the subterranean Nigerian mole rat (Cryptomys foxi)

“…Astonishingly, some animals living under such conditions can still perform the strenuous activity of digging 63,[84][85][86] . The O 2 tension which S. ehrenbergi tolerates is well-below that which exists at the top of Mount Everest and the CO 2 tension is 200 times greater than that in the free atmosphere 23,29,87 . The naked mole rat, H. glaber, can tolerate five hour exposure to 80% CO 2 concentration and 18 minutes of anoxia without suffering perceptible injury 88 .…”