02250nas a2200133   4500008004100000245014900041210006900190260002000259300001100279490000600290520175100296100002502047856004402072       2017                        eng d00aEnvironmental factors could constrain the use of long-range vocal signals in solitary tuco-tucos (Ctenomys; Rodentia, Ctenomyidae) reproduction 0 aEnvironmental factors could constrain the use of longrange vocal  cOct-24-20172112  aR7YFP00 v13 a<p>Ctenomys are mainly solitary subterranean rodents. Life underground has advantages (protection against predators, environmental control and reduced competition) but also implies disadvantages (digging costs, coping with hypercapnia, physiological and sensory changes, and communication problems) that can affect the social structure. Reproduction is a critical moment in the use of the signal repertoire, because individuals should locate in space, travel to, contact and copulate with a suitable partner. Energy expenditure involved in digging (connecting) tunnels makes difficult to attain a partner burrow system, but predation risk involved in moving above ground can counterbalance it and coupled with the spatial structure of the population, can determine the best communicative strategy to contact and locate a potential partner. Vocalisations allow to communicate over longer distances an with a reduced risk, while chemical signals, mostly aimed at vomerolfaction involve proximity or direct contact with the sample odour thus making information gathering more risky. As Ctenomys can use different signal types to gather different types of information leading to copulation, we propose that the use of these signals would be flexible, depending mostly on population spatial structure and type of predators living in the zone. This is because differences among species and/or populations in the use and characteristics of long-range vocalisations could be induced by environmental and/or social factors. This variation could be considered as a case of phenotypic plasticity, determining communication strategies variability in reproductive context, mostly dependent on long-range communication signals and the behaviour of males.</p>
1 aFrancescoli, Gabriel  uhttps://bio.acousti.ca/pt-pt/node/52598