Testing detection and discrimination of vegetation chemical signals in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum

SCHLEICH, CRISTIAN; ZENUTO, ROXANA

ETHOLOGY ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE

Año: 2010 vol. 22 p. 257 - 264

0394-9370

Previous studies on the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum (tuco-tuco) have shown that this species has the ability to use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging. As a continuation of these works, we assess whether direct contact with vegetation chemical signals is required for food odor recognition, and whether this subterranean rodent is also able to discriminate plants of different nutritional quality by the chemical signals released by them into the soil. First, we test animal responses to plant extracts and controls (water) covered with a wire mesh or without it. Also, we assess individual digging response in an artificial Y-maze whose arms were filled with soil in which plants of different nutritional quality have been grown. The results of this study suggest that (i) volatile chemical cues allow food odor recognition and direct contact with the odor source does not enhance such recognition in C. talarum, and (ii) olfaction could play a key role in the finding of food patches, allowing individuals to direct their excavation towards plant species of high nutritional quality