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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Seismic signal transmission between burrows of the Cape mole-rat, Georychus capensis
Journal of Comparative Physiology A, Volume 170, No. 1, Year 1992
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Description
Both seismic and auditory signals were tested for their propagation characteristics in a field study of the Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis), a subterranean rodent in the family Bathyergidae. This solitary animal is entirely fossorial and apparently communicates with its conspecifics by alternately drumming its hind legs on the burrow floor. Signal production in this species is sexually dimorphic, and mate attraction is likely mediated primarily by seismic signalling between individuals in neighboring burrows. Measurements within, and at various distances away from, natural burrows suggest that seismic signals propagate at least an order of magnitude better than auditory signals. Moreover, using a mechanical thumper which could be triggered from a tape recording of the mole-rat's seismic signals, we established that the vertically-polarized surface wave (Rayleigh wave) propagates with less attenuation than either of the two horizontally-polarized waves. Thus, we tentatively hypothesize that Rayleigh waves subserve intraspecific communication in this species. © 1992 Springer-Verlag.
Authors & Co-Authors
Narins, Peter M.
United States, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
Reichman, O. J.
United States, Manhattan
Kansas State University
Jarvis, Jennifer U.M.
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Lewis, Edwin R.
United States, Berkeley
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
Statistics
Citations: 83
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1007/BF00190397
ISSN:
03407594
e-ISSN:
14321351