Highveld Mole-rat

Highveld mole-rats represent a less extreme form of social mole-rat organization than naked mole-rats. They live in family groups with reproductive skew—dominant pairs produce most offspring—but subordinates can reproduce, especially during favorable seasons. This seasonal modulation of reproductive suppression provides insight into how environmental conditions affect organizational rigidity.

Reproductive suppression varies with resources. During harsh dry seasons, subordinate reproduction is completely suppressed. During rains when food is abundant, subordinates may reproduce successfully. The dominant's ability to monopolize reproduction depends on the resources available to enforce it. Abundance weakens hierarchy; scarcity strengthens it.

Dispersal occurs during favorable windows. When rains soften soil enough for independent burrowing, some subordinates leave to found new colonies. The dispersal option keeps subordinate cooperation conditional—they stay because staying is currently optimal, not because leaving is impossible. Remove the dispersal option, and cooperation might be maintained differently.

Group size affects suppression intensity. In larger groups, the dominant has difficulty monitoring all subordinates, and sneaky reproduction becomes possible. Small groups show tighter reproductive control. Scale creates management challenges even in mole-rat societies.

For organizations, highveld mole-rats illustrate how environmental conditions modulate organizational strictness. Abundant resources reduce hierarchy's grip; scarcity tightens it. The same organization may have different internal dynamics under different external conditions.