SPECIES-SPECIFIC FOOTDRUMMING IN KANGAROO RATS - DIPODOMYS INGENS, D-DESERTI, D-SPECTABILIS

Footdrumming was compared in three allopatric species of kangaroo rat, Dipodomys, from three habitats. Analysis of footdrumming recordings r evealed species-specific patterns of drumming ranging from single thum ps to individual footdrumming signatures. The desert kangaroo rat, D. deserti, drums single thumps spaced 0.25-0.30 s apart that are sometim es introduced with a short footroll. The giant kangaroo rat, D. ingens , drums long footrolls that can average over 100 drums at 18 drums/s. The banner-tailed kangaroo rat, D. spectabilis, drums three to 38 foot drums in a footroll combined into sequences of two to 12 footrolls at a rate of 17 drums/s. In playback tests, all three species stood in al ert postures and entered the burrow in response to footdrumming of the ir own and the other species. The rats also responded in species-speci fic ways. Dipodomys spectabilis drummed to its own species' footdrummi ng, but not to playbacks of the single drums of D. deserti. Instead of footdrumming to playbacks of its own species, D. deserti approached t he speaker more frequently than did either of the other two species. D ipodomys ingens footdrummed equally to all footdrumming playbacks. The species' differences reflect differences in social tolerance and spac ing. Dipodomys deserti rarely engages in footdrunming exchanges and ch ases visitors from the burrow. Dipodomys spectabilis engages in freque nt footdrumming exchanges and some chases, and D. ingens seems to tole rate close neighbours and footdrums periodically. (C) 1997 The Associa tion for the Study of Animal Behaviour.