A comparison of population characteristics and reproductive success of resident and immigrant meadow voles

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2638-2643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Pugh ◽  
Robert H. Tamarin
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Minimum Weight ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Maximum Weight ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Random Subset ◽  
Weight Criterion ◽  
Allozyme Loci

We used a radionuclide technique combined with a minimum-weight criterion to identify resident and immigrant meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, on an open grid in South Natick, Massachusetts. Using the same techniques with populations on two fenced grids, we calculated an error rate of 7.2% in residency assignment. Immigrants were not a random subset of the resident population. Among immigrant voles the sex ratio was significantly male biased, whereas among residents it did not differ from 1:1. Immigrants had genotypic ratios that differed significantly from those of residents at three of five allozyme loci examined electrophoretically. Although immigrant males resided on the grid significantly longer than resident adult males, they did not differ significantly in reproductive success, maximum weight, or distance moved between trapping periods. Immigrants seemed to be as successful as residents during a period of low or declining density.

The number of male conspecifics affects the odour preferences and the copulatory behaviour of male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

Behaviour ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Ferkin ◽  
Adam C. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Conspecific Male ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Copulatory Behaviour

We hypothesized that male meadow voles adjust their odour preferences and sexual behaviours in response to the presence and number of male conspecifics they perceive to have visited a sexually receptive female conspecific. Male voles only preferred the odour of the female previously associated with 3 or 5 males to that of the unfamiliar female. Male voles also had a shorter latency to mate and a shorter mating duration when they were paired with the female that was previously associated with the bedding of 3 or 5 males compared to males paired with an unfamiliar female. Mating and reproductive success, however, were similar for males paired with either female. Thus, male voles use public information provided by scent marks of male conspecifics and adjust their responses in favour of a female that they perceive to been visited by several males, although she may represent a high risk of sperm competition.

Winter coexistence of voles in spruce forest: relevance of seasonal changes in aggression

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian N. Turner ◽  
Michael R. Perrin ◽  
Stuart L. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Vole Population ◽  
Reproductive Condition ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Nonbreeding Season ◽  
Short Period

Beginning in November 1973, numerous meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) moved onto a spruce forest grid occupied by red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi). A resident meadow vole population resulted, the two species coexisting until April 1974, when most meadow voles disappeared from the grid during a relatively short period. Interspecific aggression levels, as determined from voles temporarily removed from the populations and tested in paired encounters in a laboratory arena, were low during the winter, but increased when males of both species entered reproductive condition in the spring. Microtus was generally dominant in early breeding period encounters, but this dominance declined concurrently with the meadow voles' disappearance from the forest. It is argued that meadow voles did not leave the forest to breed, or because the snow cover melted, since this species will live and reproduce in forest in the absence of Clethrionomys. The results are interpreted as support for an earlier hypothesis that competitive habitat exclusion varies seasonally with reproduction-related aggression. Thus, these species apparently may coexist in either of their preferred habitats when interspecific aggression is low (the nonbreeding season), but this relationship terminates when interspecific aggression levels increase with the resumption of breeding in the spring.

scholarly journals Variations in Growth and Yield of Indigenous Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) Genotypes

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-05
Author(s):  
H Barua ◽  
M H Rahman ◽  
M M Alam Patwary ◽  
M Zahirul Alam ◽  
S Nahar
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Minimum Weight ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Lablab Purpureus ◽  
Maximum Weight ◽  
Agricultural Research Institute ◽  
Green Seed ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Hyacinth Bean

Variations in growth and yield of three hyacinth bean genotypes collected from Sitakundu of Chittagong, were investigated at the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Pahartali, Chittagong during November 2011 to March 2012, where BARI Seem-4 was used as standard control. The minimum number of days for pod formation (54 days) was recorded in BARI Seem-4, while the maximum was in DLP 002 (62 days). The highest number of pods (324) per plant was obtained from DLP 001 followed by DLP 003 (212.33) and the lowest (148.33) was obtained from BARI Seem-4. The maximum weight (12.61 g) of single pod was observed in DLP 003, which is close to that of DLP 002 (12.23 g). The minimum weight of single pod (7.08g) was however observed in DLP 001. Weight of 100-green seed (117.17 g) was maximum in DLP 002, while that of DLP 001 was the minimum (85.90 g).The maximum green seed (61.86 %) was found in DLP 003 and the minimum was in DLP 001 (47.89 %). DLP 003 produced the highest pod yield (26.77 t/ha) which was followed by DLP 001 (22.94 t/ha), while BARI Seem-4 produced the lowest (17.43 t/ha), which is close to that of DLP 002 (19.57 t/ha).The Agriculturists 2014; 12(2) 01-05

scholarly journals The duration of sociosexual behaviors in male meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus varies before, during, and after copulation

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee A. Vaughn ◽  
Daniel A. Ferkin ◽  
Javier Delbarco-Trillo ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles

Abstract The behaviors that surround copulation are characterized as sociosexual behaviors. These behaviors displayed by males that are directed at females may include allogrooming, wrestling, chasing, approach, and time spent together. The data supported the hypothesis that the duration of sociosexual behaviors differs during the pre-copulatory, peri-copulatory, and post-copulatory phases of the mating bout in meadow voles. Voles spent more time approaching conspecifics during the pre- and peri-copulatory phases than during the post-copulatory phase. Voles spent more time allogrooming, wrestling, and chasing during the pre-copulatory phase than during the peri- and post-copulatory phases. Voles spent similar amounts of time together during the pre-, peri-, and post-copulatory phases. The data suggest that sociosexual behaviors displayed by males may be involved in setting the pace and temporal components of the mating bout. During the pre-copulatory phase particular behaviors by male voles may attract females, during the peri-copulatory phase some of these behaviors may stimulate or motivate the female to mate, and during the post-copulatory phase certain behaviors may prepare the male to mate again.

Not only big bulls. Correlation between morphometry, reproductive success, and testosterone level in a flooded savannah population of the spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leidy Alejandra Barragan Contreras ◽  
Rafael Antelo ◽  
Adolfo Amezquita
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Steroid Hormone ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Testosterone Levels ◽  
Caiman Crocodilus ◽  
Paternity Tests ◽  
Hourly Basis

Testosterone is a steroid hormone involved in the expression of many morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits that arguably affect reproductive success. The evidence for that link is, however, incomplete or absent in the research on crocodylian species. Testosterone levels are also known to change throughout the breeding season, often on an hourly basis, which may further complicate studying their relationship with breeding success. We tested here whether baseline testosterone levels, measured out of the breeding season, are correlated with morphometry and reproductive success in Caiman crocodilus (LINNAEUS, 1758). Paternity tests, based on the amplification and genotyping of eight fluorochrome labeled microsatellites, failed to support a continuous relationship between these variables. Although adult males of all sizes contribute to reproduction, paternity was overrepresented in a few males with high values of maleness index (bigger males), supporting a despotic or pyramidal hierarchy among males. Maternity assignments supported the existence of multiple paternity, a phenomenon previously attributed in this species to the lack of large males caused by human hunting. The idea of larger males having more offspring is widespread in crocodylians, but to our knowledge, this is the first investigation that prove this dogma.

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