animals that breed in ground holes can be exposed to higher doses of radiation from natural radioactive isotopes, including radon and its daughters, present in soil air. one of such species is the sand martin riparia riparia. examination of natural burrows in sand mines revealed radon levels of 2.82-1320 bq/m3 in the examined soil horizon where martins dug their burrows. it was shown that adult...

Burrows serve many functions for animals by providing a location for rearing young, sleeping, hibernation, food storage, and protection from predators and environmental extremes (Reichman & Smith 1990; Kinlaw 1999). Architectural features of burrows such as depth, orientation, and number of entrances can enhance specific functions critical to the occupant’s fitness. In particular, burrow archit...

BACKGROUND The biology of adult tsetse (Glossina spp), vectors of trypanosomiasis in Africa, has been extensively studied - but little is known about larviposition in the field. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In September-November 1998, in the hot-dry season in Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley, we used artificial warthog burrows to capture adult females as they deposited larvae. Females were subject...

In sedentary animals, the choice of a suitable home site is critical to survival and reproductive fitness. However, habitat suitability may vary with predation risk. We compared habitat use of Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii plesius) living in the boreal forest under conditions of fluctuating predation pressure. In our study area, predators show ten-year cycles in numbers that tra...

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Spatiotemporal distributions of key resources are hypothesized to underpin sociobiological patterns. Burrow availability and quality is of paramount importance to fossorial animals. The southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) burrows in both hard and friable soils. Theoretical and empirical studies suggest that the harder substrate should promote closer geographical clustering of bu...

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.007 0003-3472/© 2014 The Authors. Published on behalf o ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-n Some social signals are sexually selected both by female mating preferences and by maleemale competition for mates. Studies of the behavioural mechanisms that mediate responses to these signals provide insight into how sexual selection operates...

Plague, a flea-transmitted infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a primary threat to the persistence of prairie dog populations (Cynomys spp.). We conducted a 3-yr survey (2004-2006) of fleas from Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) and their burrows in montane grasslands in Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. Our objectives were to describe flea com...