Field and Laboratory Studies Provide Insights into the Meaning of Day-Time Activity in a Subterranean Rodent (Ctenomys aff. knighti), the Tuco-Tuco
Figure 2
Phase of activity of the three enclosure entrained animals transferred from the semi-natural enclosure to constant lab conditions.
A) March 2010 animal; B) July 2010 animal; C) March 2011 animal. Each actogram consists of two sections: upper section shows aboveground emergence times (black marks) of one individual animal during enclosure observation; lower section shows subsequent infrared-detected activity under constant laboratory conditions. Vertical arrows indicate the moment when the animal was released into its lab cage and infrared-based motion detection was initiated. In the upper sections of each figure, the dark gray and white backgrounds represent the timing of natural light/dark cycles. In the lower sections, the light gray background represents constant darkness (dim red light). Vertical lines show the astronomical (A) and civil (C) twilights according to the U.S. Naval Oceanography Portal (www.usno.navy.mil). Differences in the interval between the last observed activity in the enclosure and the first detected activity in the laboratory are caused by the differences in the time needed to trap each animal.