We here report the first simultaneous measurement of metabolic cost of calling, acoustic power and efficiency of sound production in animals--the mole crickets Scapteriscus borellii and S. vicinus (Gryllotalpidae). We measured O(2) consumption, CO(2) production and acoustic power as the crickets called from their burrows in an open room. We utilized their calling burrow as the functional equiva...

In Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park, the fossorial land crab, Gecarcinus quadratus (Gecarcinidae), densely populates (1 - 6 m(-2)) a region of forest extending from the Park's Pacific coastline inland to ca. 600 m. Throughout this coastal forest ('crabzone'), crabs selectively forage for fallen leaves and relocate them to subterranean burrow chambers. Comparisons between surface soils (0 - ...

In Kazakhstan, plague outbreaks occur when its main host, the great gerbil, exceeds an abundance threshold. These live in family groups in burrows, which can be mapped using remote sensing. Occupancy (percentage of burrows occupied) is a good proxy for abundance and hence the possibility of an outbreak. Here we use time series of satellite images to estimate occupancy remotely. In April and Sep...

Burrow-dwelling rodents are often considered ecosystem engineer species in arid environments. They create distinct habitat patches by building burrows: they move large amounts of soil, mix soil layers and change properties locally. Our aim was to explore the role Steppe Marmot as an shaping plant composition diversity steppes. First, we made a literature search gather information on engineering...

In situ preservation of mud shrimps of the family Callianassidae (Decapoda: Axiidea) has rarely been noted in the fossil record. The present contribution reports body fossils of four members of the family (“Callianassa” almerai, “C.” pseudorakosensis, “C.” sp. 1 and “C.” sp. 2) which are apparently preserved within their burrows, all from middle Miocene deposits of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary...

The permeability to tritiated water (hourly exchange fraction = 0-164) and the rate of urine flow (0-47% body weight/day) are lower than recorded in other freshwater decapods. The calculated net osmotic water flux (2-71 % body weight/day) is 5 times the water output in the urine, indicating that there is extrarenal excretion of water. Water balance is maintained in the absence of urine producti...

Distribution, population and reproductive biology of Uca sindensis were studied in a subtropical mangrove of Pohl port in the northern Persian Gulf. Sex ratio, distribution, population structure, handedness (evenness), diameter burrow, breeding season and fecundity were investigated. Ten 0.5 m2 quadrates were randomly sampled during low tide periods from October 2009 to September 2010.A total o...

The Chinese pangolin is a critically endangered and biologically unique species, yet information on its status, distribution, habitat preferences still scarce in Nepal, which limits effective conservation action. This study identified the current burrow density distribution pattern, important parameters associated with Nepal through opportunistic field surveys. Fifty-four belt transects were ex...