Search results for "Arvicolinae"
showing 10 items of 116 documents
Erratum: Temporal dynamics of Puumala hantavirus infection in cyclic populations of bank voles.
2016
Understanding the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in their reservoir host populations is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human disease epidemics. The human infection risk of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is highest in northern Europe, where populations of the rodent host (bank vole, Myodes glareolus) undergo cyclic fluctuations. We conducted a 7-year capture-mark-recapture study to monitor seasonal and multiannual patterns of the PUUV infection rate in bank vole populations exhibiting a 3-year density cycle. Infected bank voles were most abundant in mid-winter months during years of increasing or peak host density. Prevalence of PUUV infection in bank voles exhibited a regular, seas…
Response of an arctic predator guild to collapsing lemming cycles
2012
6 pages; International audience; Alpine and arctic lemming populations appear to be highly sensitive to climate change, and when faced with warmer and shorter winters, their well-known high-amplitude population cycles may collapse. Being keystone species in tundra ecosystems, changed lemming dynamics may convey significant knock-on effects on trophically linked species. Here, we analyse long-term (1988-2010), community-wide monitoring data from two sites in high-arctic Greenland and document how a collapse in collared lemming cyclicity affects the population dynamics of the predator guild. Dramatic changes were observed in two highly specialized lemming predators: snowy owl and stoat. Follo…
Fluctuating asymmetry in bank vole populations (Rodentia, Arvicolinae) reflects stress caused by landscape fragmentation in the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay
2003
In intensively farmed, reclaimed areas (polders) of Mont-St-Michel Bay, France, bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) live in fragmented hedgerows, where populations are small and dispersal rates and genetic diversity are low. These small populations are likely to have been exposed to potential environmental and/or genetic stress. The sensitivity of development to stress can be measured by fluctuating asymmetry (FA). FA was calculated for three samples from a disturbed area and one sample from an adjacent, more connected and undisturbed landscape. Size FA was estimated from 16 measurements of the skull and teeth whilst shape asymmetry was estimated from the skull alone. Bank voles in fragmen…
GENETIC BASIS OF THE TRADE-OFF BETWEEN OFFSPRING NUMBER AND QUALITY IN THE BANK VOLE
2004
One of the main tenets of modern life-history theory is the negative relationship (trade-off) between the number and quality of offspring produced. Theory predicts a negative genetic correlation between these traits since both are closely related to fitness of individuals. However, the genetic basis of the trade-off has only been tested to a limited extent in natural populations. We examined whether size and quality of offspring are negatively related to litter size in the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus. First, we found a significant negative phenotypic correlation between the number and size of offspring at birth in both laboratory and field populations of the bank vole. Second, a large…
Optimal allocation of reproductive effort: manipulation of offspring number and size in the bank vole
2001
The number of offspring attaining reproductive age is an important measure of an individual's fitness. However, reproductive success is generally constrained by a trade-off between offspring number and quality. We conducted a factorial experiment in order to study the effects of an artificial enlargement of offspring number and size on the reproductive success of female bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). We also studied the effects of the manipulations on growth, survival and reproductive success of the offspring. Potentially confounding effects of varying maternal quality were avoided by cross-fostering. Our results showed that the number of offspring alive in the next breeding season w…
A trade-off between current and future sex allocation revealed by maternal energy budget in a small mammal.
2011
Sex-allocation theories generally assume differential fitness costs of raising sons and daughters. Yet, experimental confirmation of such costs is scarce and potential mechanisms are rarely addressed. While the most universal measure of physiological costs is energy expenditure, only one study has related the maternal energy budget to experimentally controlled offspring sex. Here, we experimentally test this in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) by simultaneously manipulating the litter's size and sex ratio immediately after birth. Two weeks after manipulation, when mothers were at the peak of lactation and were pregnant with concurrent litters, we assessed their energy budget. We found that …
Reproductive costs and litter size in the bank vole.
1995
The potential reproductive costs for free-ranging bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) offspring and mothers were assessed by manipulating litter size and by determining the effects of nursing varied numbers of offspring. Litter enlargement did not increase the number of weanlings per mother. The mass of juveniles was significantly lower in the enlarged litters and higher in the reduced litters, compared to the control group. However, the survival of juveniles from weaning aged three months did not depend on their mass at weaning. Data from a previous study (Mappes et al. 1995) indicated that a higher mass at weaning may increase juveniles' abilities to maturate and breed during their summer…
Maternal effort and male quality in the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus.
1999
Parental investment in reproduction is adjusted according to potential benefits in terms of offspring survival and/or mating success. If male quality affects the reproductive success of a female, then females mating with high-quality males should invest more in reproduction. Although the subject has been of general interest, further experimental verification of the hypothesis is needed. We studied whether female bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) adjusted their maternal effort according to male quality, measured as mating success. To enable the measurement of maternal effort during nursing separately from male genetic effects the litters were cross-fostered. Further, the genetic backgroun…
Sex–biased maternal investment in voles: importance of environmental conditions
2004
Adaptive bias in sex allocation is traditionally proposed to be related to the condition of mothers as well as to the unequal fitness values of produced sexes. A positive relationship between mother condition and investment into male offspring is often predicted. This relationship was also recently found to depend on environmental conditions. We studied these causalities experimentally using a design where winter food supply was manipulated in eight outdoor-enclosed populations of field voles Microtus agrestis. At the beginning of the breeding season in spring, food-supplemented mothers seemed to be in a similar condition, measured as body mass, head width, body condition index and parasite…
The effects of Borrelia infection on its wintering rodent host
2022
AbstractIn seasonal environments, appropriate adaptations are crucial for organisms to maximize their fitness. For instance, in many species, the immune function has been noticed to decrease during winter, which is assumed to be an adaptation to the season’s limited food availability. Consequences of an infection on the health and survival of the host organism could thus be more severe in winter than in summer. Here, we experimentally investigated the effect of a zoonotic, endemic pathogen, Borrelia afzelii infection on the survival and body condition in its host, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), during late autumn–early winter under semi-natural field conditions in 11 large outdoor enclos…