Article Abstract:
A study has been conducted to examine the effect of physical and social environment on footdrumming signatures of juvenile and adult banner-tailed kangaroo rats, Dipodymys spectabilis. Footdrumming signatures recorded over a seven-year period in which population densities fluctuated revealed higher variation in footdrumming signatures of juveniles than in adults. The subjects were also observed to change elements of the signal when they changed territories and were exposed to new neighbors. These suggest that footdrumming signatures in kangaroo rats change in response to changes in their environment.
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Article Abstract:
There are specific patterns of footdrumming in three allopatric species of kangaroo rat, Dipodomys. The giant kangaroo rat, D. ingens, the desert kangaroo rat, D. deserti, and the banner-tailed kangaroo rat, D, spectabilis, also respond in species-specific ways. It appears that footdrumming serves to maintain spacing in kangaroo rats. Differences in responses between the species could be a reflection of differences in social tolerance.
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Article Abstract:
Research describing the response of kangaroo rats to the risk of predation by snakes is presented. In particular it is demonstrated that kangaroo rats can assess predation risk as displayed by their responses to live and decoy snakes.
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