A comparison of epigean and subterranean locomotion in the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo: Mustelidae: Carnivora) |
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| Authors: | Angela M Horner Audrone R Biknevicius |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Irvine Hall, Athens, OH 45701, USA;2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH 45701, USA;1. Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancon, Panama;3. Montclair State University, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA;4. Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, 1816 S Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA;5. School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;6. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, 1102 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;1. University of Würzburg, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany;2. University of Vienna, Division of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria;1. Group of Climate Change Biology, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;2. Institute of Ecology, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China;3. School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Burrows are used by many mammals to escape predation, cache food and for parturition. Although the construction of burrows has been studied in some taxa, the locomotion while inside of them has received scant attention. In this study we collected simultaneous video and force data to characterize gaits, kinematics, peak ground reaction forces (GRFs) and external mechanical energy profiles in the domestic ferret, an animal that displays the typical morphology and behaviors associated with subterranean adaptations in mustelines. We compared kinematics and kinetics between locomotion in two experimental conditions: subterranean, simulated by a Plexiglass tunnel designed such that the ferrets’ peak back height was reduced by 40% and hip height by 25%, and epigean, or unconstrained overground. Despite the large change in posture, a striking number of gait and force variables were not statistically different between experimental conditions. In both subterranean and epigean conditions, the ferrets in our study traveled at similar average velocities (～0.8 m s?1), preferred to use a lateral-sequence diagonal-couplet gait, and were more likely to demonstrate the in-phase fluctuations of external mechanical energy indicative of running mechanics (68% of all trials). The ferrets conformed to gait and mechanical patterns seen in a variety of other small (<1 kg) mammals rather than being unique, despite the divergent morphology of mustelines. Our results demonstrated biodynamically similar locomotion in both epigean and subterranean conditions and support the hypothesis that ferrets possess adaptations for tunnel locomotion. |
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