Nutrition and burrowing energetics of the Cape mole-rat Georychus capensis

Abstract

At 22°C the resting oxygen consumption of G. capensis is 1.13±0.05 cm³O₂·g^-1·h^-1 (mean± S.E.). In loose sandy soil the burrowing metabolic rate was approximately three times that of resting (3.41±0.19 cm³O₂·g^-1· h^-1). Rate of oxygen consumption while burrowing bears a linear relationship with rate of burrowing. The equation of the regression line describing this relationship was used to construct a model for calculating energy expenditure of burrowing in free-living mole-rats. The diet of G. capensis consists of some green plant material and geophyte corms. The latter has a mean gross energy content of 16.36 kJ·g^-1 dry weight. The digestibility coefficient for captive G. capensis fed on sweet potato, was 97.42±0.41%. Data collected from an excavated burrow system revealed that the total energetic cost of constructing the burrow amounted to 79% of the estimated digestible energy available from geophyte corms in the area. A food store in the same burrow system was sufficient to meet the maintenance requirements of an adult G. capensis, resting at 22°C, for approximately 80-85 days. Soil samples taken at random adjacent to the burrow contained corms with a mean estimated digestible energy value of 2084 kJ per m³ of soil. A comparison of energetic cost of burrowing and randomly available digestible energy in the field suggests that foraging patterns are not random.