Data for 'Variation in soil temperature predicts small seasonal shifts in daily activity patterns of a social subterranean rodent'

Animals often show distinct activity rhythms which may align their behaviour with favourable environmental conditions. In terrestrial species, daily and seasonal activity patterns are largely influenced by changes in photoperiod and temperature. However, subterranean animals experience weak or absent environmental variation due to minimal light exposure and reduced daily temperature fluctuations. Despite these conditions, many subterranean rodents display pronounced diel rhythms in physiological processes and locomotor activity, though the extent of seasonal variation remains unclear. In this study, we show that wild groups of subterranean Damaraland mole-rats exhibit a population-wide daily activity peak around midday. The timing of this peak shifts by approximately two hours between seasons and coincides with temperature minima at 40 cm depth. Neither individual nor group characteristics predict its occurrence and timing, suggesting that temperature fluctuations, rather than social factors, are the main driver of seasonal variation in activity timing. Although Damaraland mole-rats remain active at low levels throughout the day, they display clear diurnal foraging rhythms at the group level that change little across seasons.We utilized an RFID reader array (LID650/608, DorsetID, The Netherlands) to monitor mole-rat activity for a full calendar year. Mole-rats wree implanted with a subcutaneous transponder and released into their burrow. Animals were weighed, sexed, and assigned a reproductive class upon capture. The array was programed to scan continuously for transponder tags within range with a read delay of 3 seconds and save transponder codes with a time stamp. Thus, if an animal remained in the range of the panel for longer than 3 seconds, it would have multiple entries at 3-second intervals. The reader would then store the transponder code and the date and time. We assumed activity bouts lasted for 1 hour and animals were given an active score of 1 if a reading was detected on the array during a 60-minute period, and a score of 0 if not detected. An animal would not gain a further activity point until detected beyond the activity period. Individuals captured in the group but not recorded by the RFID reader array were assigned activity scores of zero.We modelled activity using sine-cosine waves and tested for effects of temperature, reproductive status, group size, sex, and body mass on the peak of activity. Here we present the data and R code to reproduce the results of our study.

动物通常表现出独特的活动节律，借此将自身行为与适宜的环境条件相匹配。陆生动物的每日与季节性活动模式，很大程度上受光周期与温度变化的调控。然而，地下动物因光照极少、昼夜温度波动微弱，几乎感受不到环境变化。尽管如此，许多地下啮齿类仍在生理过程与运动活动中表现出显著的昼夜节律，不过其季节性变化的程度仍不明晰。本研究发现，野生达马拉兰鼹形鼠（Damaraland mole-rat）种群在正午前后呈现全种群范围的每日活动高峰。该高峰的时间在不同季节间偏移约2小时，且与40厘米深度处的温度最小值相吻合。个体与群体特征均无法预测该活动高峰的出现与时间，这表明活动时间季节性变化的主要驱动因素是温度波动，而非社会因素。尽管达马拉兰鼹形鼠全天都维持低水平活动，但在群体层面仍表现出清晰的昼间觅食节律，且该节律在不同季节间变化极小。我们采用射频识别（Radio Frequency Identification, RFID）阅读器阵列（LID650/608，荷兰DorsetID公司）对鼹形鼠的活动进行了一整个日历年的监测。所有鼹形鼠均被植入皮下应答器（transponder）后放回洞穴。捕获时，我们会对个体进行称重、性别鉴定，并划分其繁殖等级。该阵列被设置为持续扫描范围内的应答器标签，扫描间隔为3秒，并将应答器代码与时间戳一并存储。因此，若某只动物停留在阅读器面板的扫描范围内超过3秒，系统将以3秒为间隔生成多条记录。阅读器会存储应答器代码以及对应的日期与时间。我们假设单次活动时长为1小时，若某一60分钟时段内阅读器阵列检测到个体的读数，则为其赋予活动得分1，未检测到则得分为0。在该活动时段结束前，若未再次检测到个体，则不会为其追加活动得分。对于在种群中被捕获但未被RFID阅读器阵列记录到的个体，我们为其赋予活动得分0。我们使用正弦-余弦波对活动情况进行建模，并检验了温度、繁殖状态、种群大小、性别以及体重对活动高峰的影响。本文附带了可复现本研究结果的数据集与R代码。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集包含野生Damaraland mole-rats（一种社会性地下啮齿动物）的全年活动监测数据、土壤温度数据以及日出日落信息，用于研究土壤温度变化如何影响其日常活动模式。研究发现，种群活动高峰在中午附近，季节性偏移约2小时，与地下温度最低点相关，表明温度是主要驱动因素。数据集还提供R代码以复现分析结果。