Inhabitant changes in long-term mole nesting at the same site, revealed by observing mushroom fruiting at the site
-
Naohiko Sagara
and
Yu Fukasawa
Abstract
Talpine moles are reported to nest at the same site for periods longer than their known longevity. The present study verifies experimentally in situ that during such long-term nesting, the inhabitants of the nest change, with the new inhabitant constructing its own nest if the existing nest has been removed. The principal methods involved removal of both the nest and inhabiting mole from the nesting site, the site that had been located by observing the fruiting of the mushroom species Hebeloma radicosum. This treatment was followed by observation of refruiting of the mushroom at the same site; refruiting indicated renesting by another mole. Verification was made at three sites in the cool temperate forests of central Japan where three talpine species live. At two of the sites, the inhabiting Euroscaptor mizura mole was replaced by another E. mizura mole. At the third site, a Mogera wogura mole was replaced by a Mogera imaizumii mole. The causes and circumstances for such persistent nesting are discussed, with emphasis on habitat-cleaning symbiosis.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the Kyoto University Forest for allowing the field study; Toyoaki Itsubo, then a student of Kyoto Prefectural University, for locating Site 2; Kimiyuki Tsuchiya, then at Miyazaki Medical College, for capturing the Euroscptor mizura animal at Site 1; Hisashi Abe, then at Hokkaido University, for helping the identification of the Mogera wogura animal captured at Site 3; Ai Kaneko, then a graduate student of Kyoto University, for statistical analyses of the numerical data in the early version of the manuscript; Masaharu Motokawa and Hidetoshi Nagamasu, of the Kyoto University Museum, for keeping the collected materials; Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review; and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments.
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©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
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- Review
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- Original Studies
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- Short Notes
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- Abduction and potential case of predation of an infant howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans) by a tufted capuchin monkey (Sapajus nigritus)
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Female emigration in Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata: ecological and social backgrounds and its biogeographical implications
- Original Studies
- Long-term fluctuations of white-lipped peccary populations in French Guiana
- Feeding behavior and activity patterns of Amazon red squirrels
- Dietary overlap of coexisting exotic brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and endemic mara (Dolichotis patagonum) in Northern Patagonia (Mendoza, Argentina)
- The dynamics of nitrogenous substances in rodent diet in a forest environment
- Mammary number and litter size of the fat dormouse on the Southern Caspian coast
- Local threats and potential infectious hazards to maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) in the southeastern Argentine Chaco
- Habitat selection of the margay (Leopardus wiedii) in the eastern Andean foothills of Ecuador
- Geographic variation in sexual-size dimorphism of the American black bear (Ursus americanus) in areas of western North America
- Effects of regional context and landscape composition on diversity and composition of small rodent assemblages in Argentinian temperate grasslands and wetlands
- Inhabitant changes in long-term mole nesting at the same site, revealed by observing mushroom fruiting at the site
- Short Notes
- Does livestock influence the diet of Iberian ibex Capra pyrenaica in the Peneda-Gerês National Park (Portugal)?
- Abduction and potential case of predation of an infant howler monkey (Alouatta guariba clamitans) by a tufted capuchin monkey (Sapajus nigritus)
- Noteworthy records of an endemic shrew from Mexico (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Cryptotis griseoventris), with comments on taxonomy
- A preliminary analysis of dental microwear as a proxy for diet and habitat in shrews
