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Effect of tunnel inclination on digging energetics in the tuco-tuco, Ctenomys talarum (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae)

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Abstract

Burrows play an important role for many species, providing them with shelter and access to food resources. For subterranean rodents, living underground imposes constraints on morphology and physiology. The convergence in burrow architecture among subterranean rodents has been related to the energy demands imposed by the cost of constructing an entire system. The low frequency of tunnels with downward angles steeper than 40° appears to be a common feature in burrow design. In the subterranean habitat, movements through the soil are expensive and gravity can exert important restrictions on digging energetics when individuals push out the soil removed in steeper digging angles. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of digging angle on digging energetics in Ctenomys talarum. The mass of the removed soil and burrowing speed were similar while digging metabolic rate and net cost of transport were higher in individuals digging in tunnels with angles >40° than in those digging tunnels with angles <40°. The cost of constructing a burrow in the horizontal plane differed by 20% from others in which the natural representation of tunnels >40° was considered. Even given that tunnels >40° represented only 6% of the total burrow length, burrow architecture appears to be constrained by the high energetic cost of constructing in steeper angles.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all members of Laboratorio Ecofisiología, especially AP Cutrera, for helping us with animal’s husbandry and for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. We also thank the anonymous reviewers and CE Schleich for their comments and suggestions. This study was supported by grants from the Universidad Nacional de Mar Del Plata, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, and Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (PIP 5670 to CDA). The experiments carried out in this work complied with the current laws of Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Funes 3250, Mar del Plata, CC 1245, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Facundo Luna

  2. Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 1245, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Facundo Luna & C. Daniel Antinuchi

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina

    Facundo Luna & C. Daniel Antinuchi

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  1. Facundo Luna
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  2. C. Daniel Antinuchi
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Correspondence to Facundo Luna.

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Luna, F., Antinuchi, C.D. Effect of tunnel inclination on digging energetics in the tuco-tuco, Ctenomys talarum (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). Naturwissenschaften 94, 100–106 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0171-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0171-5

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