Urine marking by male bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus Schreber, 1780; Microtidae, Rodentia) in relation to their social rank

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 2594-2601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francine M. Rozenfeld ◽  
E. Le Boulangé ◽  
R. Rasmont
Keyword(s):  
Social Rank ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Urine Marking ◽  
Hierarchical Groups ◽  
Free Interaction ◽  
Territorial Marking

Available ecological data suggest that mature males of Clethrionomys species form stable hierarchical groups during the breeding season. The present laboratory work reports on the agonistic and urinary behaviour of paired, hierarchically naive, male bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) before, during, and after free interaction in large enclosures provided with individual burrows. In this situation, a generally stable dominance–subordination relationship is established. After a brief fighting episode, the subordinate is recognizable mainly by his avoidance behaviour out of his burrow. The subordinate's burrow itself becomes the focus of agonistic interactions. The staining of urine with unmetabolized vital dyes allowed differentiation of marking patterns. The correlation between these patterns and the hierarchical status of the animals is in accordance with the hypothesis that in bank voles, the urine of adult males contains chemical signals involved in maintaining their social organization. The spatial distribution of the urine marks of the dominant around the subordinate's nest suggests that they act as a territorial marking.

Effect of social rank on the growth of the preputial glands in male bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus

1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torgny Gustafsson ◽  
Bertil Andersson ◽  
Patrick Meurling
Keyword(s):  
Social Rank ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Preputial Glands

Effect of a predator's visit on the spatial distribution of bank voles: experiments with weasels

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 660-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Włodzimierz Jędrzejewski ◽  
Bogumiła Jędrzejewska
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Use Of Space ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Outdoor Enclosure ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Mustela Nivalis ◽  
Series Of Experiments

A series of experiments in seminatural conditions with bank voles Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780) and weasels Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1766 was designed to show if (i) a short visit by a weasel into an area, and (ii) its scent alone left there, would influence the use of space by bank voles, and whether the age, sex, and reproductive activity of bank voles would differentiate their responses to the risk of predation. Forty-five bank voles were released into an outdoor enclosure (150 m2) divided into three pens of equal size. The risk of predation was manipulated by introducing a weasel into either one or two pens for 24 or 2 h. Changes in the use of space by voles were determined by livetrapping in pens for 11 days after each manipulation. The pens that had been penetrated by weasels were avoided by voles for several days following each introduction of a weasel. The pens where prey had contacted a predator, or where only the odour of a weasel remained, were equally avoided by voles. Sex- and age-related differences in response to risk were noted in bank voles: subadults and nonreproductive adults of both sexes, and reproductively active adult males, shifted their positions significantly after a weasel had penetrated their home pen. Juveniles of both sexes and reproducing females did not abandon their ranges.

scholarly journals The benefits of being dominant: Health correlates of male social rank and age in a marmot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenta Uchida ◽  
Rachel Ng ◽  
Samuel A Vydro ◽  
Jennifer E Smith ◽  
Daniel T Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Active Season ◽  
Handicap Hypothesis ◽  
Variation Explained

Abstract The benefits of dominance may not come without costs, particularly for males. For example, the “immunocompetence handicap hypothesis” states that males with enhanced mating success allocate resources to enhance reproductive output at a cost to their current health, whereas the “resource quality hypothesis” predicts that high-ranking males may benefit from increased reproduction and good health. While the predictions from each have been well tested in captive animals and in a variety of highly social primates, fewer studies have been carried out in free-living, facultatively social animals. Using adult male yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer), we evaluated predictions of these hypotheses by examining the relationship between social rank and two health indicators–fecal corticosterone metabolite (FCM) levels, and neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratios–after accounting for variation explained by age, body mass, and seasonality. We found that higher-ranking males tended to have a lower N/L ratio (reflecting good health) than lower-ranking individuals, whereas FCM levels were not significantly related to rank. In addition, heavier male marmots had lower N/L ratios, while body mass was not associated with FCM levels. We also found that older adult males had lower FCM levels (reflecting less physiological stress) but higher N/L ratios than younger adults. Finally, we found that FCM levels decreased as the active season progressed and FCM levels were associated with the time of the day. Overall, our results suggest that socially-dominant male marmots enjoyed better, not worse health in terms of lower N/L ratios.

scholarly journals Demographic Factors Associated with Hantavirus Infection in Bank Voles (Clethrionomys glareolus)

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 924-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert E. Olsson ◽  
Neil White ◽  
Clas Ahlm ◽  
Fredrik Elgh ◽  
Ann-Christin Verlemyr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Hantavirus Infection ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Bank Voles

Observations on social behaviour of Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus (L.)) during terrestrial haul-out

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Salter
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Age Composition ◽  
Body Contact ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus

Social interactions in walrus herds of mixed sex and age composition were recorded at a haul-out site on the east coast of Bathurst Island, N.W.T., during July–August 1977. Most walruses maintained body contact with at least one other walrus while hauled out on land; herds were usually circular in shape. Adult males, adult females, and immatures all displaced other walruses, and thus entered herds, by jabbing with the tusks. Dominance during agonistic interactions was related to relative tusk length and sex and age of interactants. Behaviour of walruses on land suggested an energetic advantage in mutual body contact, which would be maximized by occupation of interior positions within herds.

scholarly journals Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy

2005 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 830-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. KALLIO-KOKKO ◽  
J. LAAKKONEN ◽  
A. RIZZOLI ◽  
V. TAGLIAPIETRA ◽  
I. CATTADORI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Neutralization Assay ◽  
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Dobrava Virus ◽  
Low Prevalence

The spatial and temporal distribution of hantavirus and arenavirus antibody-positive wild rodents in Trentino, Italy, was studied using immunofluorescence assays (IFA) in two long-term sites trapped in 2000–2003, and six other sites trapped in 2002. The overall hantavirus seroprevalence in the bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus (n=229) screened for Puumala virus (PUUV) antibodies was 0·4%, and that for Apodemus flavicollis mice (n=1416) screened for Dobrava virus (DOBV) antibodies was 0·2%. Antibodies against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were found in 82 (5·6%) of the 1472 tested rodents; the seroprevalence being 6·1% in A. flavicollis (n=1181), 3·3% in C. glareolus (n=276), and 14·3% in Microtus arvalis (n=7). Of the serum samples of 488 forestry workers studied by IFA, 12 were LCMV-IgG positive (2·5%) and one DOBV-IgG positive (0·2%), however, the latter could not be confirmed DOBV-specific with a neutralization assay. Our results show a widespread distribution but low prevalence of DOBV in Trentino, and demonstrate that the arenavirus antibodies are a common finding in several other rodent species besides the house mouse.

Use of space by bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) in a polish farm landscape

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michŀ Kozakiewicz ◽  
Anna Kozakiewicz ◽  
Aleksy Łukowski ◽  
Tomasz Gortat
Keyword(s):  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Use Of Space ◽  
Bank Voles

A survey of Cryptosporidium species in Skomer bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus skomerensis)

1998 ◽  
Vol 244 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Bull ◽  
R. M. Chalmers ◽  
A. P. Sturdee ◽  
T. D. Healing
Keyword(s):  
Cryptosporidium Species ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Bank Voles
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