INVESTIGADORES
SCHLEICH Cristian Eric
artículos
Título:
Use of vegetation chemical signals for digging orientation
Autor/es:
SCHLEICH, C.E., ZENUTO, R.R.
Revista:
ETHOLOGY
Referencias:
Año: 2007 vol. 113 p. 573 - 578
ISSN:
0179-1613
Resumen:
Sensory modalities involved in the localization and selection of food rep-
resent critical information for understanding the foraging behavior of
subterranean rodents. The objective of this study was to determine if a
subterranean rodent that forages on aboveground plant parts, Ctenomys
talarum, is able to detect the presence of odorous chemicals released by
the plants into the soil to guide its excavation, as has been shown for
subterranean species that forage on roots and bulbs. Individuals were
introduced into an artificial Y-maze, whose arms were filled with sandy
soil in which plants either had or had not been growing (control).
Digging activity exhibited in each soil type was recorded. The following
plant species, present in the natural habitat of C. talarum, were used:Ctenomys
talarum, is able to detect the presence of odorous chemicals released by
the plants into the soil to guide its excavation, as has been shown for
subterranean species that forage on roots and bulbs. Individuals were
introduced into an artificial Y-maze, whose arms were filled with sandy
soil in which plants either had or had not been growing (control).
Digging activity exhibited in each soil type was recorded. The following
plant species, present in the natural habitat of C. talarum, were used:, is able to detect the presence of odorous chemicals released by
the plants into the soil to guide its excavation, as has been shown for
subterranean species that forage on roots and bulbs. Individuals were
introduced into an artificial Y-maze, whose arms were filled with sandy
soil in which plants either had or had not been growing (control).
Digging activity exhibited in each soil type was recorded. The following
plant species, present in the natural habitat of C. talarum, were used:C. talarum, were used:
Panicum racemosum (three different concentrations), Cortadeira sp., Margiricarpus
pignatus, Ambrosia sp. and Raphanus sativus. The individuals allo-
cated more time to excavation in the soil in which vegetation had been
growing in comparison with the control for the five analysed plant spe-
cies, except in the case of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration. The
number of individuals that completed excavation in the tube-containing
soil in which plants had been growing was significantly higher than in
the tube-containing soil in which no plants had been growing, with the
exception of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration and R. sativus. The
results of the present study suggest that C. talarum have the ability to
use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging even though mem-
bers of this species consume mainly aboveground plant parts.(three different concentrations), Cortadeira sp., Margiricarpus
pignatus, Ambrosia sp. and Raphanus sativus. The individuals allo-
cated more time to excavation in the soil in which vegetation had been
growing in comparison with the control for the five analysed plant spe-
cies, except in the case of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration. The
number of individuals that completed excavation in the tube-containing
soil in which plants had been growing was significantly higher than in
the tube-containing soil in which no plants had been growing, with the
exception of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration and R. sativus. The
results of the present study suggest that C. talarum have the ability to
use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging even though mem-
bers of this species consume mainly aboveground plant parts., Ambrosia sp. and Raphanus sativus. The individuals allo-
cated more time to excavation in the soil in which vegetation had been
growing in comparison with the control for the five analysed plant spe-
cies, except in the case of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration. The
number of individuals that completed excavation in the tube-containing
soil in which plants had been growing was significantly higher than in
the tube-containing soil in which no plants had been growing, with the
exception of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration and R. sativus. The
results of the present study suggest that C. talarum have the ability to
use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging even though mem-
bers of this species consume mainly aboveground plant parts.P. racemosum at its lowest concentration. The
number of individuals that completed excavation in the tube-containing
soil in which plants had been growing was significantly higher than in
the tube-containing soil in which no plants had been growing, with the
exception of P. racemosum at its lowest concentration and R. sativus. The
results of the present study suggest that C. talarum have the ability to
use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging even though mem-
bers of this species consume mainly aboveground plant parts.P. racemosum at its lowest concentration and R. sativus. The
results of the present study suggest that C. talarum have the ability to
use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging even though mem-
bers of this species consume mainly aboveground plant parts.C. talarum have the ability to
use olfaction to orient their digging while foraging even though mem-
bers of this species consume mainly aboveground plant parts.