Built by Animals: The Natural History of Animal Architecture

277 Pages·2009·2.95 MB·English

by  Mike Hansell

Built by Animals
ToGraeme
Built by Animals
The natural history of
animal architecture
MIKE HANSELL
1
3
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ISBN 978–0–19–920556–1
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Contents
ListofFigures vi
Preface vii
1. TheBuilders 1
2. BuildersChangetheWorld 26
3. YouDon’tNeedBrainstobeaBuilder 58
4. Who’sinChargeRoundHere? 92
5. FromOneNesttoAnother 121
6. TwoRoutesLeadtoTrapBuilding 147
7. TheMagicoftheToolUsers 180
8. BeautifulBowers? 216
NotesandReferences 252
Index 258
v
List of Figures
1.1 Brants’whistlingratburrowsystem 16
1.2 Nestoflong-billedspiderhunter 20
1.3 Leafcutterants’nest 23
2.1 Mudshrimpburrow 35
2.2 Magnetictermitenests 44
3.1 Amoebacase 59
3.2 Similarbeaks,dissimilarnests 65
3.3 Beaksindicatefeedinghabits 66
3.4 Oikopleurahouse 70
3.5 Whichspeciesareburrowdiggers? 88
4.1 Virtualwaspnests 118
5.1 Cliffswallownests 124
5.2 Ahistoryofnestbuilding 126
6.1 Araneusspider’sorbweb 151
6.2 Marinewormweb 158
6.3 Aminoacidsinspidersilk 164
6.4 Silkabsorbsenergy 169
7.1 Chimpanzeepassesthetrap-tubetest 194
7.2 Toolusebyacapuchinmonkey 197
7.3 NewCaledoniancrowmakestools 200
8.1 Avenuedisplayofthespottedbowerbird 217
8.2 Goldenbowerbirdonitsbower 221
vi
Preface
It is a family story, and therefore probably untrue, that when at the
age of about six I went missing on my short walk to school, I was
eventually found watching a beetle negotiating the gutter. My first
natural history enthusiasm was certainly insects. Later, an under-
graduate project on the case-building behaviour of caddisfly larvae
led to a doctoral thesis on the same subject. By that time I knew
morethanmostpeoplewouldwishtoknowaboutcaddislarvalcases.
Leaving them completely behind, I spent two years teaching at the
University of Khartoum in the Sudan, returning to the UK as an
AssistantLecturerattheUniversityofGlasgowin1968.Onarriving
there I was asked to give three lectures that probably changed the
directionofmycareer.
At that time, Glasgow final-year Zoology students were given,
apartfromtheirspecialsubjectlectures,aseriesofoccasionallectures
calledthe‘ACourse’.Thisinessenceconsistedofahandfulofusaca-
demicseachgivingafewlecturesonwhatevertookourfancy.Three
lectures on caddis cases seemed excessive, so I decided to go to the
other extreme and talk about everything that was built by whatever
animal. This, I decided, was not to be a mere parade through the
animalkingdombutanattempttomakesomesenseof,anddiscover
some pattern in, the behaviour of that miscellaneous bunch of web
spinners,house,case,mound,andnestbuilders.ThatiswhatIhave
tried to do ever since, and this book is an attempt to explain that
biology, the biology of animal architecture and building behaviour,
to anyone to whom that sounds appealing. It is a book about who
builds,howtheybuildandwhatthosebuildingsdo.Ittouchesupon
environmentalimpact,animalintelligence,architecture,engineering
vii
Preface
and building materials, on the organization of workforces, on traps,
toolsandart.
Writing this book has not been the lonely experience that some
authors complain about. I would like to thank all those colleagues
and friends who, through their daily interest and encouragement,
contributed to its completion. This is my first experience of writ-
ing for a non-specialist audience, so I am very grateful to Lorna
and Rowland Mitchell who, in the role of general readers, gave
me valuable feedback, and to Jacquie Marshall who read and tact-
fully commented on the whole text. For specialist biological infor-
mation and advice, I would like to thank Martin Burns, Robin
Dunbar, Geoff Hancock, Felicity Huntingford, Bob Jeanne, Bill
McGrew, Aubrey Manning, Maggie Reilly, John Riddell, Flavio
Roces, Douglas Russell and Richard Wrangham. For very helpful
information on human architecture, I must thank Jonathan Hale.
For an enjoyable adventure to find the church of All Saints, Little
Shelford, my thanks to Martha Jennings. Finally, I want to express
my enormous appreciation to Graeme Ruxton. His broad interests,
his enthusiasm, and his readiness to sit down and discuss points of
biology have contributed immeasurably to the development of the
finaltext.Hewasnotonlypreparedtoreadeverythingbutalsoread
againmyreviseddrafts.Idedicatethisbooktohim.
viii
1
The Builders
Standing with its back to the Atlantic atop a 90m (nearly 300ft)
verticalcliff,atthebaseofwhichtheoceanseethesandfoams,isthe
great semi-circular, prehistoric fort of Dun Aengus. The location is
theverywesternmostfringeofEurope,theAranIslandsoffthecoast
ofIreland.Onthelandwardside,thefort’sprotectionfromattackis
man-made.Thehalf-mooninnersanctuaryofthefort(45mor148ft
across) is embraced by a drystone rampart reaching over 5m high
and nearly 4m thick. Beyond this are a further three irregular semi-
circlesofdefensivewallsand,shouldeventheouteronebeoverrun,
theattackersmustthennegotiateafieldofmassivelimestoneshards,
jagged and stood on end. This is a chevaux-de-frise, a term also used
todescribethebarbed-wireenlargementsthatprotectedFirstWorld
Wartrenches,butliterally‘horsesofFriesland’,spikedobstaclesused
atleastfromtheseventeenthcenturytobreakupcavalrycharges.The
age of Dun Aengus is uncertain, although it is probably over 2,000
yearsold:moresurprisingly,westilldonotknowwhatthreatcould
have stimulated the building of such formidable defences. Our need
forprotectionisnotanydifferentfromthatofotherspecies.Animals
havealwayshadenemies,inparticulartheclimate,andotherspecies
seekingtopreyuponthem.Wearejustanewcomerspeciesresorting
tobuildingtoprotectourselvesinathreateningworldwhichincludes
1