Influences of sociality and habitat on African mole-rat burrowing patterns

Abstract

The movement choices that animals make are influenced by many factors including resource availability, which in turn can affect whether the animals search for resources alone or in groups. Subterranean rodents are ideal for examining movement paths because they create burrows that persist for extended periods and thus serve as records of movement. African mole-rat species (Bathyergidae) are solitary, social, or eusocial, and inhabit a variety of habitat types. In this study, mole-rat burrowing patterns were examined by analyzing the spatial patterns of the soil mounds that they create as they burrow. Mound spatial patterns were examined for solitary and social species occurring in two habitats, which differed in rainfall, soil moisture, and vegetation availability. Examination of mound spatial patterns at multiple spatial scales revealed that mounds of single burrow systems were clustered at small spatial scales (<6 m), while mounds were not clustered at the larger spatial scales of the entire burrow systems. Spatial patterns of mounds did not differ in relation to sociality or habitat characteristics. These findings, as well as evidence from other taxa, may suggest common burrowing strategies for subterranean rodents.