Do subterranean mammals use the Earth's magnetic field as a heading indicator to dig straight tunnels?

Autor:	Malewski S; Department of General Zoology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany., Begall S; Department of General Zoology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.; Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Czech University of Agriculture, Prague, Czech Republic., Schleich CE; Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina., Antenucci CD; Laboratorio de Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina., Burda H; Department of General Zoology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.; Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Czech University of Agriculture, Prague, Czech Republic.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	PeerJ [PeerJ] 2018 Oct 31; Vol. 6, pp. e5819. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Oct 31 (Print Publication: 2018).
DOI:	10.7717/peerj.5819
Abstrakt:	Subterranean rodents are able to dig long straight tunnels. Keeping the course of such "runways" is important in the context of optimal foraging strategies and natal or mating dispersal. These tunnels are built in the course of a long time, and in social species, by several animals. Although the ability to keep the course of digging has already been described in the 1950s, its proximate mechanism could still not be satisfactorily explained. Here, we analyzed the directional orientation of 68 burrow systems in five subterranean rodent species ( Fukomys anselli , F. mechowii , Heliophobius argenteocinereus , Spalax galili , and Ctenomys talarum ) on the base of detailed maps of burrow systems charted within the framework of other studies and provided to us. The directional orientation of the vast majority of all evaluated burrow systems on the individual level (94%) showed a significant deviation from a random distribution. The second order statistics (averaging mean vectors of all the studied burrow systems of a respective species) revealed significant deviations from random distribution with a prevalence of north-south ( H. argenteocinereus ), NNW-SSE ( C. talarum ), and NE-SW ( Fukomys mole-rats) oriented tunnels. Burrow systems of S. galili were randomly oriented. We suggest that the Earth's magnetic field acts as a common heading indicator, facilitating to keep the course of digging. This study provides a field test and further evidence for magnetoreception and its biological meaning in subterranean mammals. Furthermore, it lays the foundation for future field experiments. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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