Assessment of habitat quality in the Mediterranean pine vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus) by the study of survival rates

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1511-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Paradis ◽  
Henri Croset

Habitat quality should be usefully defined in a demographic perspective. Survival and fecundity rates are sufficient to allow population persistence in a high-quality habitat but not in a low-quality habitat. The Mediterranean pine vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus) occurs in apple orchards in southern France, but its populations in this habitat are often driven to extinction by chemical control. However, recolonization occurs promptly when control ceases. We tested the hypothesis that meadows surrounding the orchards are high-quality habitats (sources) for the Mediterranean pine vole. We livetrapped four populations, three in apple orchards and one in a meadow. Survival rates were estimated using probabilistic open-population models. Our analysis led us to conclude that meadows are low-quality habitats, particularly since no juveniles survived in this habitat during the main part of the study. Recolonization of chemically controlled patches is probably allowed by asynchronous control among orchards. We further discuss the usefulness of probabilistic open-population models for the investigation of variations in survival rates both within and between populations.

1998 ◽  
Vol 245 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Paradis ◽  
Xiaoming Wang ◽  
Gerald Guedon ◽  
Henri Croset

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 1227-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Santos ◽  
A. P. Mira ◽  
M. L. Mathias

The Lusitanian pine vole ( Microtus lusitanicus (Gerbe, 1879)) and the Mediterranean pine vole ( Microtus duodecimcostatus de Selys-Longchamps, 1839) are sister species with burrowing habits and a restricted European distribution. Our aim was to assess the relative effect of environmental, soil, and spatial characteristics on the distribution of these species in Portugal, and obtain predicted occurrence maps for each species, particularly to identify areas of sympatry. We used spatial eigenvector mapping (SEVM) to describe the spatial autocorrelation in species data, and we partitioned the variance in species distributions to quantify the relative effects of environmental, soil, and spatial characteristics. The spatial variables explained the major part of variability in both species distributions and were more important than environmental or soil variables. The Lusitanian pine vole occurs in areas outside landscape units of grassland, higher rainfall, frost, and cambisols, with mostly acid soils, lower abundance of litosols, and presence of solonshaks. The Mediterranean pine vole is distributed in grassland areas within intermediate values of soil pH, dominated by litosols and luvisols, and lower rainfall, frost, and cambisols. Our results showed disjunct sympatric areas of small size and a parapatry boundary for the centre of Portugal, suggesting that contact zones are probably narrow.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1639
Author(s):  
Miguel Lao-Pérez ◽  
Diaa Massoud ◽  
Francisca M. Real ◽  
Alicia Hurtado ◽  
Esperanza Ortega ◽  
...  

Most mammalian species of the temperate zones of the Earth reproduce seasonally, existing a non-breeding period in which the gonads of both sexes undergo functional regression. It is widely accepted that photoperiod is the principal environmental cue controlling these seasonal changes, although several exceptions have been described in other mammalian species in which breeding depends on cues such as food or water availability. We studied the circannual reproductive cycle in males of the Mediterranean pine vole, Microtus duodecimcostatus, in the Southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Morphological, hormonal, functional, molecular and transcriptomic analyses were performed. As reported for populations of other species from the same geographic area, male voles captured in wastelands underwent seasonal testis regression in summer whereas, surprisingly, those living either in close poplar plantations or in our animal house reproduced throughout the year, showing that it is the microenvironment of a particular vole subpopulation what determines its reproductive status and that these animals are pure opportunistic, photoperiod-independent breeders. In addition, we show that several molecular pathways, including MAPK, are deregulated and that the testicular “immune privilege” is lost in the inactive testes, providing novel mechanisms linking seasonal testosterone reduction and testis regression.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (06) ◽  
pp. 775-784
Author(s):  
Tobias Cronberg

AbstractDuring the last two decades, survival rates after cardiac arrest have increased while the fraction of patients surviving with a severe neurological disability or vegetative state has decreased in many countries. While improved survival is due to improvements in the whole “chain of survival,” improved methods for prognostication of neurological outcome may be of major importance for the lower disability rates. Patients who are resuscitated and treated in intensive care will die mainly from the withdrawal of life-sustaining (WLST) therapy due to presumed poor chances of meaningful neurological recovery. To ensure high-quality decision-making and to reduce the risk of premature withdrawal of care, implementation of local protocols is crucial and should be guided by international recommendations. Despite rigorous neurological prognostication, cognitive impairment and related psychological distress and reduced participation in society will still be relevant concerns for cardiac arrest survivors. The commonly used outcome measures are not designed to provide information on these domains. Follow-up of the cardiac arrest survivor needs to consider the cardiovascular burden as an important factor to prevent cognitive difficulties and future decline.


2018 ◽  
pp. 57-77
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Rutherford

This chapter examines the medical challenges posed by the increased number of gunshot wounds during the civil wars, and sets out the changes in the way these wounds were treated. The treatment of battlefield wounds expounded in surgeons’ manuals, is placed in context with what we now understand about the biology, pathology and effective treatment methods for wounds. The techniques used by the civil-war surgeon are compared with those of later periods. Despite a lack of understanding of microbiology, physiology and, in many cases, anatomy, many methods employed by civil-war military surgeons reflect good contemporary surgical practice. Despite the lack of antibiotics, anaesthetics, hygienic environments and high-quality surgical implements, survival rates from injuries on the field arrear to have been considerable, if treated. In developing treatments for the problems posed by gunshot wounds, some civil-war surgeons used an evidence-based approach, and laid the foundations for much modern surgical practice.


The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar W. Johnson ◽  
Phillip L. Bruner ◽  
Jay J. Rotella ◽  
Patricia M. Johnson ◽  
Andrea E. Bruner

Abstract We monitored the apparent survival of territorial and nonterritorial Pacific Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) for 20 consecutive nonbreeding seasons at a wintering ground within Bellows Air Force Station (BAFS) on the eastern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Territorial birds were especially site-faithful from season to season, and each surviving individual reoccupied the same territory held in previous seasons. On average, territorial birds were resighted for about twice as many postbanding seasons (4.2) as nonterritorial birds (1.8). Open-population modeling indicated that apparent survival varied by age and territorial status. Our most parsimonious model estimated apparent annual survival rates in territorial plovers as 0.90 for young birds (age determined from retained juvenal primaries) from their first through their second wintering season, and 0.80 for adults over numerous seasons. For nonterritorial plovers, the corresponding values were 0.82 and 0.67, respectively. Despite lower apparent survival in nonterritorial plovers, it remains uncertain whether nonterritoriality actually results in shorter life spans. Some surviving nonterritorial birds may have gone undetected (detection probability of 0.70) because of permanent emigration from the study area. Given strong site-fidelity of territorial birds and the relative certainty of detecting them (probability = 1.0), we regarded the disappearance of a plover from its territory as an indicator of mortality. From last-recorded sightings, we concluded that territorial birds died with about equal frequency during the nonbreeding and breeding seasons. Because the latter is of much shorter duration, time-relative hazards were greatest while birds were away from the wintering grounds. Winter mortality was caused by accidents (collisions with overhead wires and other obstructions), and probable predation by owls. We estimated mean additional life expectancy among territorial plovers at 5.1 years for first-year birds, and 4.5 years for unknown-age adults. The oldest known-age individual was a male that lived 13 years 10 months; in adults of uncertain ages, one male survived to a minimum age of 18 years 10 months, and two females to at least 17 years 10 months. Pacific Golden-Plovers wintering at BAFS, especially territorial birds, demonstrated relatively high rates of apparent survival combined with adaptability for coexistence with humans in an urban environment.


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