Intercolonial encounters and xenophobia in the common mole rat, Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus (Bathyergidae): the effects of aridity, sex, and reproductive status

The ecological constraints prevalent in arid environments havepromoted the evolution of social groups with a high reproductiveskew in mole rat species occurring there. Outbred social bathyergidsface conflict between maintaining colony integrity to enhancepersonal foraging success and hence survival, and dispersalto maximum individual lifetime reproductive success (LRS). Thisconflict will be a crucial determinant of the response of colonymembers to the presence of foreign conspecifics. We investigatedhow ecological constraints, sex, and reproductive status influencethe outcome of meetings between foreign common mole rats (Cryptomyshottentotus hottentotus) in a series of dyadic encounters. Individualsfrom two localities, at the extremes of an aridity gradient,were used to assess the effects of aridity. The effects of sexand reproductive status were investigated by trials betweenindividuals of differing sex and status. The arid populationrevealed substantially higher levels of rejection than the mesicpopulation. Sex and status played a significant role in moderatingindividual response. For both populations, encounters betweendifferent-sexed individuals produced lower levels of rejectionthan those between same-sexed individuals. For the mesic site,rejection was greatest for encounters between reproductive animals.Conversely, for the arid site, the levels of rejection werecomparatively high and comparable for all combinations of reproductivestatus. Ecological constraints, sex, and reproductive statusare significant factors in interactions between foreign commonmole rats, ultimately influencing individual survival, colonyintegrity and the differential LRS of all colony members. Ourresults provide insight into the evolution and maintenance offamily groups within the bathyergids.