Dr. Matthew Mason: Further Information...
University Physiologist Tel: +44 (0)1223 333829, Fax: +44 (0)1223 333840, E-mail: mjm68@cam.ac.uk
Lewis, E.R., Narins, P.M., Jarvis, J.U.M., Bronner, G. & Mason, M.J. (2006) Preliminary evidence for the use of microseismic cues for navigation by the Namib golden mole. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119: 1260-1268.
This paper describes the results of fieldwork which we conducted in Namibia in 2002. Although we had suspected from previous anatomical and behavioural studies that golden moles are sensitive to low-frequency vibrations, this had never been tested on live animals. Working in the natural habitat of the Namib desert golden mole, Eremitalpa granti namibensis, we planted seismic thumpers in a circle in the sand. The thumpers were playing vibratory sounds recorded as wind passed through desert grass, and were intended to simulate the grassy tussocks in which the moles find their food. We then released a golden mole in the centre of the arena, and measured the trails left by the animal as it moved away, hypothesizing that it would head for one of these fake "tussocks" instead of wandering off at random into the surrounding desert. The results were inconclusive, but the directions that the moles took certainly seemed to be influenced by the position of the thumper devices, from which we tentatively infer that their vibrations could be detected.
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