Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Breeding patterns and demography of a population of the Cabrera vole, Microtus cabrerae

Breeding patterns and demography of a population of the Cabrera vole, Microtus cabrerae AbstractA population of the Iberian endemic rodent, Cabrera vole Microtus cabrerae Thomas, 1906, was monitored from April 1997 to April 1999 in monthly trapping sessions. Results suggest that low rainfall combined with high temperatures is a limiting factor for reproduction in this population. Population density (17-115 ind/ha) was lower than values recorded for most Microtus species, and similar to those recorded for certain species living in atypical habitats or for non-cyclic microtines. The total value of recruitment (55.8%) was lower than for other Microtus, attributable to the weather, litter size, monogamy, and territoriality. Persistence and residency were higher than in other species of Microtus; such values in M. cabrerae could be due to its slower rate of renewal, characteristic of the K-strategy of reproduction. Habitat patch size correlated with reproductive variables, but not with presence/absence of individuals. The minimum area to consider a patch as a source was 300 m2; smaller patches showed non-continuous occupation, lower number of breeding pairs, and scarce number of young born. Habitat fragmentation at the local level, in addition to human activities in rural areas, may worsen the effects of climatic fluctuations in Cabrera vole habitats, leading to a decrease of patch size and therefore of the ability to sustain populations. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Animal Biology Brill

Breeding patterns and demography of a population of the Cabrera vole, Microtus cabrerae

Download PDF
15 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/brill/breeding-patterns-and-demography-of-a-population-of-the-cabrera-vole-dQD00KCbC9

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1570-7555
eISSN
1570-7563
DOI
10.1163/1570756053993497
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractA population of the Iberian endemic rodent, Cabrera vole Microtus cabrerae Thomas, 1906, was monitored from April 1997 to April 1999 in monthly trapping sessions. Results suggest that low rainfall combined with high temperatures is a limiting factor for reproduction in this population. Population density (17-115 ind/ha) was lower than values recorded for most Microtus species, and similar to those recorded for certain species living in atypical habitats or for non-cyclic microtines. The total value of recruitment (55.8%) was lower than for other Microtus, attributable to the weather, litter size, monogamy, and territoriality. Persistence and residency were higher than in other species of Microtus; such values in M. cabrerae could be due to its slower rate of renewal, characteristic of the K-strategy of reproduction. Habitat patch size correlated with reproductive variables, but not with presence/absence of individuals. The minimum area to consider a patch as a source was 300 m2; smaller patches showed non-continuous occupation, lower number of breeding pairs, and scarce number of young born. Habitat fragmentation at the local level, in addition to human activities in rural areas, may worsen the effects of climatic fluctuations in Cabrera vole habitats, leading to a decrease of patch size and therefore of the ability to sustain populations.

Journal

Animal Biology – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2005

Keywords: MICROTUS CABRERAE; POPULATION DYNAMICS; PATCH SIZE; REPRODUCTION; IBERIAN PENINSULA

There are no references for this article.