Du Toit J T, Jarvis J U M, Louw G N
Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, 7700, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Oecologia. 1985 Apr;66(1):81-87. doi: 10.1007/BF00378556.
At 22°C the resting oxygen consumption of G. capensis is 1.13±0.05 cmO·g·h (mean± S.E.). In loose sandy soil the burrowing metabolic rate was approximately three times that of resting (3.41±0.19 cmO·g· h). 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 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 m of soil. A comparison of energetic cost of burrowing and randomly available digestible energy in the field suggests that foraging patterns are not random.
在22°C时，南非囊鼠的静息耗氧量为1.13±0.05 cmO·g·h（平均值±标准误）。在疏松的沙土中，挖掘时的代谢率约为静息时的三倍（3.41±0.19 cmO·g·h）。挖掘时的耗氧率与挖掘速度呈线性关系。描述这种关系的回归线方程被用于构建一个计算自由生活的鼹形鼠挖掘能量消耗的模型。南非囊鼠的食物包括一些绿色植物材料和地下球茎。后者的平均总能量含量为16.36 kJ·g干重。以红薯为食的圈养南非囊鼠的消化系数为97.42±0.41%。从一个挖掘出的洞穴系统收集的数据显示，建造洞穴的总能量成本相当于该地区地下球茎可利用的估计可消化能量的79%。同一洞穴系统中的一个食物储存足以满足一只成年南非囊鼠在22°C静息时大约80 - 85天的维持需求。在洞穴附近随机采集的土壤样本中含有球茎，每立方米土壤的平均估计可消化能量值为2084 kJ。野外挖掘的能量成本与随机可得的可消化能量的比较表明，觅食模式并非随机。
