Built by Animals

Science News,  March 1, 2008  

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BUILT BY ANIMALS MIKE HANSELL

"Wombats Detected from Space" is the title of a scientific article published in a 1980 Remote Sensing of Environment. Burrows of these hardy mammals may stretch more than 260 feet deep, creating bare patches visible from Earth orbit. Hansell, an evolutionary biologist, analyzes the complicated construction of animal refuges built by architects ranging from amoebae to apes. He asks why wombats--fairly sedate, herbivorous animals--go to all that trouble. Then he suggests they don't. Like the European badger, wombats may only extend burrow systems that are several hundred years old. Both animals add complexity to their environments; by digging tunnels, they create places for other, different animals to live. The phenomenon is one Hansell connects to goby fish hiding in shrimp tunnels and burrowing owls nesting in prairie dog holes. Covering the who, what, and why of animal construction, Hansell reveals the blueprint of structures that can rival human architectures, oxford Univ. Press, 2007, 268 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $29.95.

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