What is it about?

A new method for studying the activity of semiaquatic mammals using digital portable voice recorders has been developed. Previously, actographs and night-vision devices were used to study semiaquatic mammals near their burrows. This method allows the mammal activity registration directly in the burrows. The use of voice recorders makes it possible to accurately determine whether the burrow system is inhabited or non-inhabited. In addition, it has become possible to identify the day-night time intervals during which the animals are the most or least active. The new method was tested on the Russian desman (Desmana moschata). Therefore, to identify the burrows in which the recorders were to be installed, the burrows were probed. A probe is a pole pointed at one end with a T-shaped handle at the other end. The researcher's task is to detect the entrance to the burrow, usually under water. And then the direction of the underground passage is determined by means of the probe. For this purpose, the ground is pierced to detect the hollows in the burrow with the probe starting from the burrow entrance (the probe falls through unevenly). At a distance of 2-3 meters from the burrow, in some cases largely depending on the burrow length, the ground is dug up above the burrow in the form of a small well, 1015 cm in diameter. A digital voice recorder was placed vertically in this well, so that the microphone was directed down towards the burrow. Desman noises can be characterized as short series formed as a sequence of contiguous short peaks of 15-25 seconds with 5 second interruptions formed by regular waves of breathing and its movement noises. Desman noises differ by mean amplitude and duration on oscillograms. As a rule, the noise audibility ranges from 1 to 3 minutes.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

In the future, the proposed method can help obtain outcomes for phases of activity of the hard-to-explore semiaquatic species, which will be of undoubted significance in comparative terms.

Perspectives

The method was successfully tested on the Russian desman in 2018 within the territory of the Republic of Mordovia. The method testing revealed the following advantages: 1. Possibility to obtain the most detailed information about day-night and seasonal activity in the burrows. 2. Minimization of disturbance by a researcher; the natural structure of the burrows is not damaged. 3. Possibility to conduct studies over a long period. 4. Large coverage of the study area. 5. Convenient schedule for the researcher. 6. Possibility to identify inhabited or non-inhabited burrows without direct capturing. 7. Minimum time to detect the burrowpopulation, which may take up to 24 hours, even in seasons of low activity of animals. 8. Possibility to study the activity of animals directly in the nesting chambers.

Alexey Andreychev

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: NEW METHODS FOR STUDYING THE ACTIVITY OF SEMIAQUATIC MAMMALS, PERIÓDICO TCHÊ QUÍMICA, August 2019, Dr. D. Scientific Consulting,
DOI: 10.52571/ptq.v16.n32.2019.45_periodico32_pgs_27_33.pdf.
You can read the full text:

Read

Resources

Contributors

The following have contributed to this page