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Light Perception - Material & Methods
other studies (B2.3), we wanted to examine retinal involvement by examining their light
perception performance. Thirdly, the light perception threshold was to be determined.
It has remained unstudied to date how wavelengths are propagated underground e.g.
through an open tunnel entrance. To better understand the visual performance of the
subterranean mole-rats regarding their habitat, we aimed at examining wavelength propagation
in a tunnel.
2 MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1 Study Animals
We tested adult pairs of different age of the two closely related Fukomys-species F. anselli and
F. kafuensis as well as their hybrids. The mole-rats were housed at ambient room temperature
and under a natural daylight depending light regime in glass cages of different sizes (minimum:
L60 x W35 x H35 cm) filled with a layer of horticultural peat in the mole-rat housing facilities
of the laboratories of the Department of General Zoology, University of Duisburg-Essen.
They were fed ad libitum with carrots, potatoes, lettuce and apples and had sufficient supplies
of nesting and enrichment material (e.g. small plastic boxes, tissue paper, paper rolls, plastic
rolls, plastic boxes and wooden boxes). The animals were either born in captivity or had been
captured in the field and kept under laboratory conditions for at least 18 months prior to
experiments.
Most pairs used in this study consisted of a male and a female breeder, and
occasionally of sibling pairs. We took care to test each mole-rat only once per experimental
set-up, which was ensured by the use of tissue compatible transponders (bio-capsules, 12 x 2.1
mm, ISO-standard 11784) with unique number codes (ALVIC-transponder, ALVETRA
GmbH, Neumünster, Germany), that had been injected subcutaneously with a cannula (32 x
2.6 mm) under aseptic conditions into a skin fold on the animals’ back. The mole-rats had
been carrying the transponders for a couple of months prior to the experiments and did not
show any adverse effects towards them.
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