Do female degus communally nest and nurse their pups?

Ebensperger, Luis A.; Veloso, Claudio; Wallem, Petra K.

doi:10.1007/s10164-002-0063-x

Cited by 60 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Degus are plurally breeding rodents with communal care, meaning that multiple lactating females share underground nests and rear their litters communally (Ebensperger et al 2002, 2007). Thus, suppression of reproduction does not seem to occur, given that all members of a female group exhibit signs of pregnancy and lactation (Ebensperger et al 2011).…”

Section: Uses Of the Degu As An Animal Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Octodon degus (Molina 1782): A Model in Comparative Biology and Biomedicine

Ardiles

Ewer

Acosta

et al. 2013

Cold Spring Harb Protoc

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One major goal of integrative and comparative biology is to understand and explain the interaction between the performance and behavior of animals in their natural environment. The Caviomorph, Octodon degus, is a native rodent species from Chile, and represents a unique model to study physiological and behavioral traits, including cognitive and sensory abilities. Degus live in colonies and have a well-structured social organization, with a mostly diurnal–crepuscular circadian activity pattern. More notable is the fact that in captivity, they reproduce and live for between 5 and 7 years and exhibit hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer's disease), diabetes, and cancer.

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Section: Uses Of the Degu As An Animal Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Octodon degus (Molina 1782): A Model in Comparative Biology and Biomedicine

Ardiles

Ewer

Acosta

et al. 2013

Cold Spring Harb Protoc

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“…180 g) that feed mostly on the green leaves of grasses and forbs and breed generally once per year (Ebensperger and Hurtado 2005b; Quirici et al 2010). Degus are plural breeders with communal care of offspring (Brown 1987; Solomon and Getz 1997; Silk 2007), i.e., 1–5 males and 1–8 multiple lactating females share underground nests and rear their litters communally (Ebensperger et al 2002, 2004, 2007; Hayes et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological drivers of group living in two populations of the communally rearing rodent, Octodon degus

Ebensperger

Sobrero

Quirici

et al. 2011

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Intraspecific variation in sociality is thought to reflect a trade-off between current fitness benefits and costs that emerge from individuals' decision to join or leave groups. Since those benefits and costs may be influenced by ecological conditions, ecological variation remains a major, ultimate cause of intraspecific variation in sociality. Intraspecific comparisons of mammalian sociality across populations facing different environmental conditions have not provided a consistent relationship between ecological variation and group-living. Thus, we studied two populations of the communally rearing rodent Octodon degus to determine how co-variation between sociality and ecology supports alternative ecological causes of group living. In particular, we examined how variables linked to predation risk, thermal conditions, burrowing costs, and food availability predicted temporal and population variation in sociality. Our study revealed population and temporal variation in total group size and group composition that covaried with population and yearly differences in ecology. In particular, predation risk and burrowing costs are supported as drivers of this social variation in degus. Thermal differences, food quantity and quality were not significant predictors of social group size. In contrast to between populations, social variation within populations was largely uncoupled from ecological differences.

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“…Degus are New World hystricognaths, medium-sized rodents (about 180 g body mass) that feed mostly on grasses and forbs, breed once per year, and in which multiple lactating females share underground nests and rear their litters communally (Ebensperger et al 2002, 2004, 2007). A recent study did not support roles for decreased predation risk or foraging benefits as benefits of group living in degus (Hayes et al 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Burrow limitations and group living in the communally rearing rodent,Octodon degus

Ebensperger

Chesh

Castro

et al. 2011

Journal of Mammalogy

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Group living is thought to evolve whenever individuals attain a net fitness advantage due to reduced predation risk or enhanced foraging efficiency, but also when individuals are forced to remain in groups, which often occurs during high-density conditions due to limitations of critical resources for independent breeding. The influence of ecological limitations on sociality has been studied little in species in which reproduction is more evenly shared among group members. Previous studies in the caviomorph rodent Octodon degus (a New World hystricognath) revealed no evidence that group living confers an advantage and suggest that burrow limitations influence formation of social groups. Our objective was to examine the relevance of ecological limitations on sociality in these rodents. Our 4-year study revealed no association between degu density and use of burrow systems. The frequency with which burrow systems were used by degus was not related to the quality of these structures; only in 1 of the 4 years did the frequency of burrow use decrease with decreasing abundance of food. Neither the number of females per group nor total group size (related measures of degu sociality) changed with yearly density of degus. Although the number of males within social groups was lower in 2008, this variation was not related clearly to varying density. The percentage of females in social groups that bred was close to 99% and did not change across years of varying density. Our results suggest that sociality in degus is not the consequence of burrow limitations during breeding. Whether habitat limitations contribute to variation in vertebrate social systems is discussed.

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Do female degus communally nest and nurse their pups?

Cited by 60 publications

References 18 publications

Octodon degus (Molina 1782): A Model in Comparative Biology and Biomedicine

Octodon degus (Molina 1782): A Model in Comparative Biology and Biomedicine

Ecological drivers of group living in two populations of the communally rearing rodent, Octodon degus

Burrow limitations and group living in the communally rearing rodent,Octodon degus

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