The social structure and dominance hierarchy of the highveld mole-rat Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)
The social structure and dominance hierarchy of the highveld mole-rat Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)
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DOI：
10.1017/s0952836998010085
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发表时间：
1998-10-01
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
Schoeman, AS
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Moolman, M;Bennett, NC;Schoeman, AS
高地鼹鼠 Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae 生活在南非高地夏季降雨区。它生活在最多 10 只个体的群体中，其中繁殖仅限于群体中最大的雄性和最大的雌性中的一到两个。在三个野外捕获的菌落中，平均菌落大小为 10 +/- 0 只动物，平均生物量为 900 +/- 147 g。研究群体的性别比例为 1.5:1，雄性较多。高地鼹鼠的社会等级是非线性的，根据朗道线性指数计算得出的值为 0.3。优势与捕获顺序呈负相关。对两个群体的两性的生殖活跃和性静止成员的性腺的组织学检查进一步支持了群体中存在负责繁殖的单一生殖雄性和雌性。两性的非生殖性似乎在洞穴维持活动和鼹鼠赖以生存的土生植物中都很重要。群体中的非繁殖成员不能根据体重分为不同的工群体。现有证据表明，高原鼹鼠是一种短暂的社会性物种，处于隐鼠属社会性连续体的一个极端。讨论了该亚种在社会性连续体中的地位。
The highveld mole-rat Cryptomys hottentotus pretoriae occurs in the summer rainfall region of the highveld of South Africa. It lives in colonies of up to 10 individuals, in which reproduction is limited to one to two of the largest males and the largest female in the colony. Of three field captured colonies, the mean colony size was 10 +/- 0 animals with a mean biomass of 900 +/- 147 g. The study colony had a sex ratio of 1.5:1 in favour of males.The social hierarchy of the highveld mole-rat is non-linear and has a value of 0.3 calculated from Landau's linearity index. Dominance was negatively correlated with capture order.Histological examination of the gonads of reproductively active and sexually quiescent members of both sexes of two colonies provides further support of there being a single reproductive male and female responsible for procreation in the colony.The non-reproductives of both sexes appear to be important in burrow maintenance activity and in foraging for geophytes upon which the mole-rats feed. The non-reproductive members of the colony cannot be subdivided into different worker groups based on body mass. The available evidence suggests that the highveld mole-rat is a transiently social species, at one extreme of a sociality continuum in the genus Cryptomys. The position of this subspecies in respect to the sociality continuum is discussed.