DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Burrowing Behavior of Eastern Moles

作为一种觅食、躲避捕食者、储存食物和筑巢的策略，哺乳动物对地下生命的专门化已经进化了好几次；然而，研究人员对洞穴行为知之甚少，因为很难想象动物在土壤中移动时的样子。这个项目主要研究东部鼹鼠的洞穴行为，因为它们是专门的挖掘者，已经进化出极端的形态特化来进行强有力的洞穴挖掘，并根据它们遇到的土壤类型表现出两种不同的洞穴行为。这项研究将调查东方鼹鼠如何以及为什么会改变它们的洞穴行为，以响应不同紧实度的土壤。这项工作将把穴居的形态特化与洞穴的表现联系起来，并为更广泛的研究其他种类的鼹鼠和其他哺乳动物的洞穴收敛进化奠定基础。此外，这项研究将通过提供有助于教授进化论和比较解剖学的所有学术水平的洞穴动画来促进教育，通过为改进城市搜救中使用的以鼹鼠为灵感的机器人的设计提供关键的运动学数据来造福普通公众，通过招募当地社区成员帮助确定鼹鼠栖息地来吸引公众参与，最后，将支持研究人员继续参与科学咖啡馆计划，该计划为公众举办可访问的科学演讲，聚焦当地科学家。在这项研究中，研究人员打算通过询问不同密实度的土壤的开挖行为如何变化，以及行为变化如何平衡力、速度和用于置换土壤的力的轨迹之间的权衡，来扩展初步数据。研究人员假设，横向划动和刮擦动作涉及不同的关节，使用频率不同，横向划动在置换松散土壤方面更有效，而刮削动作在置换压实土壤时最有效。将使用双平面X射线视频和测力板来可视化和量化东方鼹鼠如何改变其四肢的运动，以应对在柔软和紧凑的基质中移动的挑战。将通过Dryad.org和XMA门户网站(分别为http://xmaportal.org/webportal/)，)向公众提供部队和视频数据。

Specialization for life underground has evolved multiple times in mammals as a strategy for foraging, avoiding predators, storing food and nesting; however, researchers know very little about burrowing behaviors because it is difficult to visualize animals as they move through soil. This project focuses on burrowing behavior in Eastern moles because they are specialized diggers that have evolved extreme morphological specializations for powerful burrowing and exhibit two different burrowing behaviors in response to the type of soil they encounter. This study will investigate how and why Eastern moles change their burrowing behavior in response to soils of different compactness. This work will connect morphological specializations for burrowing to burrowing performance, and set the stage for broader investigations of the convergent evolution of burrowing in other species of moles and other mammals. In addition, this research will promote education by providing animations of burrowing useful in teaching evolution and comparative anatomy at all academic levels, benefit the general public by providing crucial kinematic data for improving the design of mole-inspired robots that are used in urban search and rescue, engage the public by recruiting local community members to help identify mole habitats, and lastly, will support the researchers continued participation in the Science Cafe program, which hosts accessible scientific talks for the public that spotlight local scientists. In this study, the researchers intend to extend upon preliminary data by asking how burrowing behavior changes in response to soils that differ in compactness and how changes in behavior balance the trade-off between force, speed and the trajectory of force used to displace soils. The researchers hypothesize that lateral stroke and scraping movements involve different joints and are used with different frequencies and that lateral strokes are more efficient in displacing loose soil while scraping movements are most efficient in displacing compact soil. Bi-planar x-ray video and force plates will be used to visualize and quantify how Eastern moles change the movements of their limbs in order to meet the challenges of moving through soft and compact substrates. Force and video data will be made available to the public through Dryad.org and the XMA portal (http://xmaportal.org/webportal/), respectively.