Comparative Fertility of Four Age Classes of Female Gray-Tailed Voles, Microtus canicaudus, in the Laboratory

Hagen, Joel B.; Forslund, Larry G.

doi:10.2307/1380201

Cited by 8 publications

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“…One possible explanation for this reversed dispersal pattern is that females dispersed to avoid their male relatives that were not leaving their natal patches. Females can breed at a younger age than can males (-18 g for females compared with >30 g for males; Hagen and Forslund 1979). Thus, if males remained in their natal site until they reached sexual maturity, their female relatives may have emigrated to avoid reproductive suppression or to activate reproduction by exposure to strange males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age- and sex-specific responses of the gray-tailed vole, Microtus canicaudus, to connected and unconnected habitat patches

Davis-Born¹,

Wolff²

2000

Can. J. Zool.

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We monitored demography, movement, and reproductive behavior of gray-tailed voles, Microtus canicaudus, in experimental habitat patches with and without corridors to test the hypotheses that more individuals would move among patches in corridor than in control unconnected habitats, and that individuals would distribute themselves more evenly among patches if corridors were present than if they were not. We predicted that more males than females would move among patches in both treatments and that juveniles in control habitats would exhibit delayed sexual maturation if their dispersal was delayed and opposite-sex relatives remained in proximity to each other. All experiments were conducted in eight 0.2-ha enclosures planted with alfalfa that was fragmented into four patches (each 156 m 2 ) separated by 12.5 m of bare ground. In four of the enclosures, patches were connected by 1 m wide habitat corridors. Corridors facilitated movements, with males moving more than females. However, corridors did not result in an even distribution of animals in the four patches. Unconnected habitat patches resulted in female-biased juvenile dispersal, and females dispersed at a lower body mass than males in both connected and unconnected habitats. Males that did not disperse from their natal patch grew at a slower rate than those that did disperse. We conclude that movement was deterred in patchy environments, enhanced by corridors, and differentially affects males and females. Behavioral factors that affect an individual's dispersal or reproductive pattern should be considered in landscape design.Résumé : Nous avons étudié la démographie, les déplacements et le comportement reproducteur chez le campagnol Microtus canicaudus dans des parcelles d'habitat expérimentales comportant ou non des corridors, dans le but d'éprouver l'hypothèse selon laquelle plus d'individus sont susceptibles de se déplacer d'une parcelle à l'autre dans les parcelles réunies par des corridors que dans les parcelles témoins non reliées, et selon laquelle aussi la répartition des individus risque d'être plus uniforme dans les parcelles avec corridors que dans les parcelles non reliées. Nous avons prédit que plus de mâles que de femelles se déplaceraient d'une parcelle à l'autre dans les deux formes de traitement et que les juvéniles présents dans les parcelles témoins verraient leur maturation sexuelle retardée si leur dispersion était retardée et si les individus apparentés du sexe opposé restaient près les uns des autres. Toutes les expériences ont été faites dans huit arènes de 0,2-ha contenant des plants de luzerne, arènes fragmentées en quatre parcelles (chacune de 156 m 2 ), séparées par 12,5 m de sol nu. Dans quatre des arènes, les parcelles étaient reliées par des corridors de 1 m de largeur. Les corridors facilitaient les déplacements et les mâles se déplaçaient plus que les femelles. Cependant, la présence de corridors n'a pas donné lieu à une répartition uniforme des campagnols dans les quatre parcelles. Dans les parcelles d'habitat non reliées, le...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age- and sex-specific responses of the gray-tailed vole, Microtus canicaudus, to connected and unconnected habitat patches

Davis-Born¹,

Wolff²

2000

Can. J. Zool.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It is therefore unlikely that the stages observed in female voles isolated from males represent repro¬ ductive senescence. Rather, it appears that maturation is delayed in females isolated from males when reared in the laboratory, because female gray-tailed voles housed with unfamiliar males from weaning can mate and produce offspring before 1 month of age (Hagen & Forslund, 1979).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%