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Ventilation of badger setts
Journal
Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde
- Volume 68, Issue 5 , 2003, Pages 277-283
Authors
Timothy J. Roper and Jude A. J. Moore, School of
Biological Sciences, University of Sussex
Abstract
Air currents were recorded at 44 separate underground locations in 12 badger
Meles meles setts (five ‘main setts’ and seven ‘outliers’). Within-sett air
movements were strongly positively correlated with, but were from one to three
orders of magnitude slower than, corresponding external wind speeds. Within-sett
air movements were significantly weaker in sheltered setts than in open setts,
and significantly stronger in nest chambers than in tunnels. Main setts were
better ventilated than outliers at sampling locations that were relatively deep
within a sett (i. e., more than 1m from the nearest entrance). We conclude that
wind-induced movement of air within badger setts contributes to ventilation of
the interior of the sett, and that large setts are better ventilated than small
ones.
Keywords
Meles meles; sett; burrow; ventilation; microclimate
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