A live trap and trapping technique for subterranean zokors (Rodentia)
-
Hua Limin
,
Ji Weihong
Abstract
Ecological and behavioural studies of subterranean animals are challenging because their subterranean lifestyle make direct observations difficult. Effective live trapping without causing injuries to an animal and handling of captured individuals are crucial for ecological and behavioural studies. In this paper, we report the design and structure of a live trap and trapping technique for zokors. The trap is made up of a stainless steel cage with a gate, a trigger and a GSM/GPRS module, and it is installed in the tunnel of a fossorial rodent (Eospalax fontanierii). The animal gets trapped when it comes to seal the opening through the cage. Once triggered, the GSM/GPRS wireless module will send a signal to a mobile phone so that the researcher can retrieve the trapped animal with little delay. A field trial of this trap was conducted at an alpine meadow in Tianzhu, China. The successful capture rate was 76% of all traps set with no injury recorded, and the average capture time was 31.67 min (range, 21.5–46.5 min). This live trap gave good results on zokor research, and it is also potentially effective or can be modified for trapping other burrow-excavating subterranean animals.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments on the paper, and Prof. Victor Squires who edited the manuscript. We also thank International Cooperation Fund of Gansu Province (No.2013GS06893) for funding the trap design.
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©2015 by De Gruyter
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Ecological drivers of group size in female Alpine chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra
- Dynamics of species composition of small non-volant mammals from the northern Cordillera Central of Colombia
- Diet of serval (Leptailurus serval) on farmlands in the Drakensberg Midlands, South Africa
- Geographical distribution, roost selection, and conservation state of cave-dwelling bats in China
- Systematic position and taxonomy of Pipistrellus deserti (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)
- Distribution and taxonomy of the common big-eared bat Micronycteris microtis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in South America
- Taxonomic evaluation of the bent-winged bat (Miniopterus) populations occurring in Iran inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences
- First record of Histiotus laephotis (Thomas, 1916) from Chile and new distributional information for Histiotus montanus (Phillipi and Landbeck, 1861) (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
- The subgenus Micoureus (Didelphidae: Marmosa) in Paraguay: morphometrics, distributions, and habitat associations
- PCR-RFLP identification of the endangered Pyrenean desman, Galemys pyrenaicus (Soricomorpha, Talpidae), based on faecal DNA
- First record of Calomys cerqueirai (Rodentia: Phyllotini) in Espírito Santo (Brazil) with description of the 2n=36, FNA=66 karyotype
- Short Notes
- A live trap and trapping technique for subterranean zokors (Rodentia)
- The effects of deforestation on white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) home range in the southern Pantanal
- Annual Reviewer Acknowledgement
- Reviewer acknowledgement Mammalia volume 79 (2015)
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Ecological drivers of group size in female Alpine chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra
- Dynamics of species composition of small non-volant mammals from the northern Cordillera Central of Colombia
- Diet of serval (Leptailurus serval) on farmlands in the Drakensberg Midlands, South Africa
- Geographical distribution, roost selection, and conservation state of cave-dwelling bats in China
- Systematic position and taxonomy of Pipistrellus deserti (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)
- Distribution and taxonomy of the common big-eared bat Micronycteris microtis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in South America
- Taxonomic evaluation of the bent-winged bat (Miniopterus) populations occurring in Iran inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences
- First record of Histiotus laephotis (Thomas, 1916) from Chile and new distributional information for Histiotus montanus (Phillipi and Landbeck, 1861) (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)
- The subgenus Micoureus (Didelphidae: Marmosa) in Paraguay: morphometrics, distributions, and habitat associations
- PCR-RFLP identification of the endangered Pyrenean desman, Galemys pyrenaicus (Soricomorpha, Talpidae), based on faecal DNA
- First record of Calomys cerqueirai (Rodentia: Phyllotini) in Espírito Santo (Brazil) with description of the 2n=36, FNA=66 karyotype
- Short Notes
- A live trap and trapping technique for subterranean zokors (Rodentia)
- The effects of deforestation on white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) home range in the southern Pantanal
- Annual Reviewer Acknowledgement
- Reviewer acknowledgement Mammalia volume 79 (2015)
