| localization of repetitive dna in the chromosomes of microtus agrestis by means of in situ hybridization. | | 2014 | 4104367 |
| experimental infection of voles with francisella tularensis indicates their amplification role in tularemia outbreaks. | tularemia outbreaks in humans have been linked to fluctuations in rodent population density, but the mode of bacterial maintenance in nature is unclear. here we report on an experiment to investigate the pathogenesis of francisella tularensis infection in wild rodents, and thereby assess their potential to spread the bacterium. we infected 20 field voles (microtus agrestis) and 12 bank voles (myodes glareolus) with a strain of f. tularensis ssp. holarctica isolated from a human patient. upon eut ... | 2014 | 25271640 |
| detection of francisella tularensis in voles in finland. | francisella tularensis is a highly virulent intracellular bacterium causing the zoonotic disease tularemia. it recurrently causes human and animal outbreaks in northern europe, including finland. although f. tularensis infects several mammal species, only rodents and lagomorphs seem to have importance in its ecology. peak densities of rodent populations may trigger tularemia outbreaks in humans; however, it is still unclear to which extent rodents or other small mammals maintain f. tularensis in ... | 2014 | 24575824 |
| host-parasite biology in the real world: the field voles of kielder. | research on the interactions between the field voles (microtus agrestis) of kielder forest and their natural parasites dates back to the 1930s. these early studies were primarily concerned with understanding how parasites shape the characteristic cyclic population dynamics of their hosts. however, since the early 2000s, research on the kielder field voles has expanded considerably and the system has now been utilized for the study of host-parasite biology across many levels, including genetics, ... | 2014 | 24612619 |
| prevalence, genetic identity and vertical transmission of babesia microti in three naturally infected species of vole, microtus spp. (cricetidae). | vertical transmission is one of the transmission routes for babesia microti, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease, babesiosis. congenital babesia invasions have been recorded in laboratory mice, dogs and humans. the aim of our study was to determine if vertical transmission of b. microti occurs in naturally-infected reservoir hosts of the genus microtus. | 2017 | 28166832 |
| molecular survey of zoonotic agents in rodents and other small mammals in croatia. | croatia is a focus for many rodent-borne zoonosis. here, we report a survey of 242 rodents and small mammals, including 43 myodes glareolus, 131 apodemus flavicollis, 53 apodemus agrarius, three apodemus sylvaticus, six sorex araneus, four microtus arvalis, one microtus agrestis, and one muscardinus avellanarius, collected at eight sites in croatia over an 8-year period. multiplex masstag polymerase chain reaction (pcr) was used for detection of borrelia, rickettsia, bartonella, babesia, ehrlich ... | 2016 | 26711522 |
| molecular examinations of babesia microti in rodents and rodent-attached ticks from urban and sylvatic habitats in germany. | small mammals serve as reservoir hosts for tick-borne pathogens, especially for those which are not transmitted transovarially in ticks - such as babesia microti. molecular investigations on the prevalence of b. microti in wild small mammals and on attached ticks from differently structured areas may provide information on the circulation of b. microti in different ecological niches. in 2012 and 2013, 622 rodents (396 myodes glareolus, 178 apodemus flavicollis, 36 apodemus sylvaticus, 4 apodemus ... | 2015 | 25922232 |
| the enzootic life-cycle of borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) and tick-borne rickettsiae: an epidemiological study on wild-living small mammals and their ticks from saxony, germany. | borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) and rickettsiae of the spotted fever group are zoonotic tick-borne pathogens. while small mammals are confirmed reservoirs for certain borrelia spp., little is known about the reservoirs for tick-borne rickettsiae. between 2012 and 2014, ticks were collected from the vegetation and small mammals which were trapped in saxony, germany. dna extracted from ticks and the small mammals' skin was analyzed for the presence of rickettsia spp. and b. burgdorferi (s.l.) by ... | 2017 | 28285593 |
| coxiella burnetii (q-fever) seroprevalence in prey and predators in the united kingdom: evaluation of infection in wild rodents, foxes and domestic cats using a modified elisa. | coxiella burnetii, the agent of q-fever, is recognized as a worldwide zoonosis with a wide host range and potentially complex reservoir systems. infected ruminants are the main source of infection for humans, but cats and other mammals, including wild rodents, also represent potential sources of infection. there has been a recent upsurge of reported cases in humans, domestic ruminants and wildlife in many parts of the world, and studies have indicated that wild brown rats may act as true reservo ... | 2015 | 24479951 |
| transmission ecology of taeniid larval cestodes in rodents in sweden, a low endemic area for echinococcus multilocularis. | although local prevalence of echinococcus multilocularis may be high, this zoonotic parasite has an overall low prevalence in foxes and rodents in sweden. to better understand opportunities for e. multilocularis transmission in the swedish environment, the aim of this study was to investigate other taeniid cestodes and to relate observed patterns to e. multilocularis. cestode parasites were examined in fox feces and rodents caught in different habitats from four regions of sweden. arvicola amphi ... | 2017 | 28274289 |
| support for targeted sampling of red fox (vulpes vulpes) feces in sweden: a method to improve the probability of finding echinococcus multilocularis. | localized concentrations of echinococcus multilocularis eggs from feces of infected red fox (vulpes vulpes) can create areas of higher transmission risk for rodent hosts and possibly also for humans; therefore, identification of these areas is important. however, in a low prevalence environment, such as sweden, these areas could be easily overlooked. as part of a project investigating the role of different rodents in the epidemiology of e. multilocularis in sweden, fox feces were collected seaso ... | 2016 | 27899131 |
| first identification of echinococcus multilocularis in rodent intermediate hosts in sweden. | echinococcus multilocularis is a zoonotic tapeworm with a sylvatic lifecycle and an expanding range in europe. monitoring efforts following its first identification in 2011 in sweden have focused on the parasite's definitive host, the red fox (vulpes vulpes). however, identifying rodent intermediate hosts is important to recognize opportunities for parasite transmission. during 2013-2015, livers from a total of 1566 rodents from four regions in sweden were examined for e. multilocularis metacest ... | 2016 | 27054089 |
| echinococcus multilocularis infection in the field vole (microtus agrestis): an ecological model for studies on transmission dynamics. | we propose a model involving the oral inoculation of echinococcus multilocularis eggs in a vole species and examine the infection dynamics in a dose-response experiment. defined doses, 100 (n = 8), 500 (n = 5) and 1000 (n = 5) of e. multilocularis eggs were used to inoculate microtus agrestis. four female c57bl/6j mice were inoculated with 1000 eggs as positive controls. the groups inoculated with 100 and 500 eggs exhibited significantly higher lesion numbers, and relatively smaller lesion size ... | 2015 | 25663069 |
| seroprevalence of encephalitozoon cuniculi in wild rodents, foxes and domestic cats in three sites in the united kingdom. | encephalitozoon cuniculi is an obligate intracellular microsporidian that is the causal agent of encephalitozoonosis, an important and emerging disease in both humans and animals. little is known about its occurrence in wildlife. in this study, serum samples from 793 wild rodents [178 bank voles (bv), 312 field voles (fv) and 303 wood mice (wm)], 96 foxes and 27 domestic cats from three study areas in the uk were tested for the presence of antibodies to e. cuniculi using a direct agglutination t ... | 2015 | 23607769 |
| metagenomic evaluation of bacteria from voles. | voles (arvicolinae, rodentia) are known carriers of zoonotic bacteria such as bartonella spp. and francisella tularensis. however, apart from f. tularensis, the bacterial microbiome of voles has not previously been determined in finland and rarely elsewhere. therefore, we studied liver samples from 61 voles using 16s ribosomal rna gene pcr analysis, followed by sanger sequencing. twenty-three of these samples were also studied with tag-encoded pyrosequencing. the samples originated from 21 field ... | 2017 | 27854567 |
| serological survey of rodent-borne viruses in finnish field voles. | in northern europe, rodent populations display cyclic density fluctuations that can be correlated with the human incidence of zoonotic diseases they spread. during density peaks, field voles (microtus agrestis) become one of the most abundant rodent species in northern europe, yet little is known of the viruses they host. we screened 709 field voles, trapped from 14 sites over 3 years, for antibodies against four rodent-borne, potentially zoonotic viruses or virus groups-hantaviruses, lymphocyti ... | 2014 | 24689532 |
| ljungan virus is endemic in rodents in the uk. | ljungan virus is a recently identified member of the family picornaviridae that was isolated from bank voles in sweden. ljv has been associated with [corrected] type 1 diabetes-like symptoms and myocarditis in bank voles (myodes glareolus), and it has been suggested that it has zoonotic potential. here, we show for the first time that ljungan virus is prevalent (20-27 % positive by pcr) in four species of uk rodent (myodes glareolus [bank vole], apodemus sylvaticus [wood mouse], microtus agresti ... | 2014 | 23665770 |
| mycobacterium microti tuberculosis in its maintenance host, the field vole (microtus agrestis): characterization of the disease and possible routes of transmission. | the field vole (microtus agrestis) is a known maintenance host of mycobacterium microti. previous studies have shown that infected animals develop tuberculosis. however, the disease is also known in cats and is sporadically reported from humans and other mammalian species. we examined trapped field voles from an endemic area, using a range of diagnostic approaches. these confirmed that a combination of gross and histological examination with culture is most appropriate to identify the true preva ... | 2014 | 24334995 |
| leptospira spp. in small mammals from areas with low and high human hantavirus incidences in south-west germany. | leptospirosis is caused by leptospira spp. and is considered the most widespread zoonotic disease worldwide. it mimics nephropathia epidemica in humans, a disease mainly caused by puumala hantavirus (puuv). small mammals are reservoirs for leptospira spp. and puuv. seewis virus (swsv) is a shrew-borne hantavirus with unknown pathogenicity. the objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence for leptospira spp. and the frequency of leptospira-hantavirus co-infections in small mammals colle ... | 2017 | 28332927 |
| declining ecosystem health and the dilution effect. | the "dilution effect" implies that where species vary in susceptibility to infection by a pathogen, higher diversity often leads to lower infection prevalence in hosts. for directly transmitted pathogens, non-host species may "dilute" infection directly (1) and indirectly (2). competitors and predators may (1) alter host behavior to reduce pathogen transmission or (2) reduce host density. in a well-studied system, we tested the dilution of the zoonotic puumala hantavirus (puuv) in bank voles (my ... | 2016 | 27499001 |
| identification of novel anelloviruses with broad diversity in uk rodents. | anelloviruses are a family of small circular ssdna viruses with a vast genetic diversity. human infections with the prototype anellovirus, torque teno virus (ttv), are ubiquitous and related viruses have been described in a number of other mammalian hosts. despite over 15 years of investigation, there is still little known about the pathogenesis and possible disease associations of anellovirus infections, arising in part due to the lack of a robust cell culture system for viral replication or tr ... | 2014 | 24744300 |
| studies on cross-immunity in herpetosoma trypanosomes of microtus, clethrionomys and apodemus. | laboratory-bred rodents of three species were inoculated with heterologous herpetosoma trypanosome species as follows: microtus agrestis with trypanosoma evotomys or t. grosi, apodemus sylvaticus with t. evotomys or t. microti and clethrionomys glareolus with t. grosi or t. microti. the three rodent species were subsequently challenged with their natural trypanosome parasite, i.e. t. microti for m. agrestis, t. grosi for a. sylvaticus and t. evotomys for c. glareolus. the parasitaemias and cours ... | 1989 | 2496408 |
| high genetic structuring of tula hantavirus. | tula virus (tulv) is a vole-associated hantavirus with low or no pathogenicity to humans. in the present study, 686 common voles (microtus arvalis), 249 field voles (microtus agrestis) and 30 water voles (arvicola spec.) were collected at 79 sites in germany, luxembourg and france and screened by rt-pcr and tulv-igg elisa. tulv-specific rna and/or antibodies were detected at 43 of the sites, demonstrating a geographically widespread distribution of the virus in the studied area. the tulv prevale ... | 2016 | 26831932 |
| yersinia spp. in wild rodents and shrews in finland. | yersinia enterocolitica and yersinia pseudotuberculosis are important zoonotic bacteria causing human enteric yersiniosis commonly reported in europe. all y. pseudotuberculosis strains are considered pathogenic, while y. enterocolitica include both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains which can be divided into six biotypes (1a, 1b, and 2-5) and about 30 serotypes. the most common types causing yersiniosis in europe are y. enterocolitica bioserotypes 4/o:3 and 2/o:9. strains belonging to biotype ... | 2017 | 28332937 |
| food availability and predation risk, rather than intrinsic attributes, are the main factors shaping the reproductive decisions of a long-lived predator. | deciphering the causes of variation in reproductive success is a fundamental issue in ecology, as the number of offspring produced is an important driver of individual fitness and population dynamics. little is known, however, about how different factors interact to drive variation in reproduction, such as whether an individual's response to extrinsic conditions (e.g. food availability or predation) varies according to its intrinsic attributes (e.g. age, previous allocation of resources towards ... | 2016 | 26990178 |
| the effects of landscape modifications on the long-term persistence of animal populations. | the effects of landscape modifications on the long-term persistence of wild animal populations is of crucial importance to wildlife managers and conservation biologists, but obtaining experimental evidence using real landscapes is usually impossible. to circumvent this problem we used individual-based models (ibms) of interacting animals in experimental modifications of a real danish landscape. the models incorporate as much as possible of the behaviour and ecology of four species with contrasti ... | 2010 | 20126614 |
| the effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the population dynamics of four animal species in a danish landscape. | variation in carrying capacity and population return rates is generally ignored in traditional studies of population dynamics. variation is hard to study in the field because of difficulties controlling the environment in order to obtain statistical replicates, and because of the scale and expense of experimenting on populations. there may also be ethical issues. to circumvent these problems we used detailed simulations of the simultaneous behaviours of interacting animals in an accurate facsimi ... | 2009 | 19549327 |
| identification of hepatozoon erhardovae krampitz, 1964 from bank voles (myodes glareolus) and fleas in southern hungary. | in order to investigate the prevalence and life cycle of apicomplexan parasites, small mammals were live-trapped with modified sherman traps in southern hungary between 2010 and 2012. altogether, 528 rodents (apodemus flavicollis melchior, 1834, apodemus agrarius pallas, 1771, myodes glareolus schreber, 1780, microtus agrestis linnaeus, 1761, mus musculus linnaeus, 1758 and micromys minutus pallas, 1771) were collected and four shrews (sorex spp.) were by-catched. captured animals belonging to n ... | 2016 | 27003406 |
| a small scale survey of leptospira in mammals from eastern poland. | samples of 30 dead small mammals each were collected on area 'a' located in eastern poland and exposed to floods by the vistula river, and on area 'b', also located in eastern poland, but not exposed to floods. kidneys and livers of the mammals were examined by the pcr and nested pcr methods for the presence of leptospira dna. from 7 species of small mammals examined, the presence of leptospira dna was detected in 2 of them. the prevalence of positive results was greatest in apodemus agrarius wh ... | 2013 | 24364438 |
| a small-scale survey of hantavirus in mammals from eastern poland. | samples of 30 dead small mammals each were collected on area 'a' located in eastern poland which is exposed to flooding by the vistula river, and on the area 'b', also located in eastern poland but not exposed to flooding. kidneys and livers of the mammals were examined by the pcr and nested pcr methods for the presence of hantavirus rna. out of 7 species of small mammals examined, the presence of hantaviruses was detected in 4 of them. hantavirus prevalence was low in apodemus agrarius (2.6%), ... | 2013 | 23772576 |
| leptospira spp. in rodents and shrews in germany. | leptospirosis is an acute, febrile disease occurring in humans and animals worldwide. leptospira spp. are usually transmitted through direct or indirect contact with the urine of infected reservoir animals. among wildlife species, rodents act as the most important reservoir for both human and animal infection. to gain a better understanding of the occurrence and distribution of pathogenic leptospires in rodent and shrew populations in germany, kidney specimens of 2973 animals from 11 of the 16 f ... | 2014 | 25062275 |
| cyclic population changes in three mouse species in the same woodland. | in two forest areas of west berlin the population-changes in three mouse species have been investigated over 28 years (1952-1979). significant changes in absolute density have been established for the short-tailed vole (microtus agrestis) at 5-year intervals, for the common vole (microtus arvalis) at 4-year intervals, and for the yellow-necked field mouse (apodemus flavicollis) at 3-year intervals. the investigations were based on a total of 43,535 small vertebrates, 90% of which had been found ... | 1981 | 28309926 |
| on the causative agent of tsutsugamushi disease isolated from field voles, apodemus speciosus speciosus, inhabiting the foot area of mt. fuji in japan. | | 1951 | 14825608 |
| analysis on population level reveals trappability of wild rodents is determined by previous trap occupant. | live trapping is central to the study of small mammals. thus, any bias needs to be understood and accounted for in subsequent analyses to ensure accurate population estimates. one rarely considered bias is the behavioural response of individuals to the trap, in particular the olfactory cues left behind by previous occupants (po). we used a data set of 8,115 trap nights spanning 17 separate trapping sessions between august 2002 and november 2013 in wytham woods, oxfordshire, uk to examine if the ... | 2015 | 26689683 |
| an example of population-level risk assessments for small mammals using individual-based population models. | this article presents a case study demonstrating the application of 3 individual-based, spatially explicit population models (ibms, also known as agent-based models) in ecological risk assessments to predict long-term effects of a pesticide to populations of small mammals. the 3 ibms each used a hypothetical fungicide (fungicidex) in different scenarios: spraying in cereals (common vole, microtus arvalis), spraying in orchards (field vole, microtus agrestis), and cereal seed treatment (wood mous ... | 2016 | 25891765 |
| polychlorinated biphenyls in small mammals from contaminated landfill sites. | pcbs in small mammals living in a contaminated landfill site varied in both concentration and congener composition, reflecting both the feeding strategy of each species and the chlorination of the congeners. body concentrations of sigmapcb on a 1:1:1 arochlor (1242:1254:1260) basis gave a rank order of sorex araneus > apodemus sylvaticus > microtus agrestis. comparisons with data for other pcb-contaminated sites suggest that the sigmapcb values in s. araneus from the landfill site may be of suff ... | 1996 | 15091398 |
| predicting cadmium, lead and fluoride levels in small mammals from soil residues and by species-species extrapolation. | the effects of heavy metals on wild mammals are often assessed by analysing residues in body organs. this paper reviews published studies to determine whether cadmium (cd), lead (pb) and fluoride (f) residues in small mammals can be predicted directly from residues in soil or, when this is not possible, from residues in other species. it was found that residues in soil could be used to predict cd and pb concentrations in small mammals. there were significant (p < 0.05) relationships between cd r ... | 1995 | 15091546 |
| effect of the odour of weasels (mustela nivalis l.) on trapped samples of their prey. | the presence of weasel anal gland secretion on rodent live traps substantially depresses population estimate by greatly reducing the catch of microtus agrestis. the catch of apodemus sylvaticus remains almost unaffected. | 1976 | 28308904 |
| contemporary radiation doses to murine rodents inhabiting the most contaminated part of the eurt. | the contemporary radiation doses to the organs and tissues of murine rodents inhabiting the most contaminated part of the eurt were estimated. the bones of animals trapped in 2005 at territories with a surface (90)sr contamination of 24-40 mbq/m(2) were used for dose reconstruction. the concentration of (90)sr in the animals' skulls was measured using the nondestructive method of bone radiometry. the dose estimation procedure included application of the published values of absorbed fractions of ... | 2014 | 24333639 |
| retinal projections to the subcortical nuclei in the japanese field vole (microtus montebelli). | retinal projections in the japanese field vole (microtus montebelli) were determined by anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (hrp). injection of hrp into the unilateral vitreous body demonstrated that the terminal labeling of the optic projections was seen bilaterally in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (sch), the ventral (glv) and dorsal (gld) lateral geniculate nuclei, the intergeniculate leaflet (igl), the medial pretectal nucleus (ntom) of the pretectum (pt) and the superficial layer o ... | 1995 | 7556420 |
| genome-wide comparative chromosome maps of arvicola amphibius, dicrostonyx torquatus, and myodes rutilus. | the subfamily arvicolinae consists of a great number of species with highly diversified karyotypes. in spite of the wide use of arvicolines in biological and medicine studies, the data on their karyotype structures are limited. here, we made a set of painting probes from flow-sorted chromosomes of a male palearctic collared lemming (dicrostonyx torquatus, dto). together with the sets of painting probes made previously from the field vole (microtus agrestis, mag) and golden hamster (mesocricetus ... | 2016 | 26611440 |
| the effect of diet quality on gut anatomy in british voles (microtinae). | three species of british voles, the bank vole clethrionomys glareolus, the field vole microtus agrestis and the water vole arvicola terrestris were maintained on diets of seed and plant leaf material to investigate changes in gut anatomy. c. glareolus and m. agrestis showed significant changes in most regions of the gut; they developed longer and heavier tracts when on a high-fibre diet. this response may be important in enabling these animals to withstand seasonal changes in diet quality. | 1993 | 8408846 |
| ultrasonic vocalization and body temperature maintenance in infant voles of three species (rodentia: arvicolidae). | infant voles thermoregulate poorly and produce ultrasonic vocalizations when cooled. vocalizing and the ability to maintain body temperature in isolated pups cold-challenged at 5 degrees c or 22 degrees c were studied in nestling clethrionomys glareolus, microtus agrestis, and arvicola terrestris. the tendency to vocalize varied with age, since pups vocalized more in their 2nd week than in their 1st or 3rd weeks. rate of vocalizing was correlated with sound pressure level of vocalizations. their ... | 1992 | 1487083 |
| generalist predator, cyclic voles and cavity nests: testing the alternative prey hypothesis. | the alternative prey hypothesis (aph) states that when the density of the main prey declines, generalist predators switch to alternative prey and vice versa, meaning that predation pressure on the alternative prey should be negatively correlated with the density of the main prey. we tested the aph in a system comprising one generalist predator (pine marten, martes martes), cyclic main prey (microtine voles, microtus agrestis and myodes glareolus) and alternative prey (cavity nests of common gold ... | 2016 | 27665542 |
| functional responses of the rough-legged buzzard in a multi-prey system. | the functional response is a key element of predator-prey interactions. basic functional response theory explains foraging behavior of individual predators, but many empirical studies of free-ranging predators have estimated functional responses by using population-averaged data. we used a novel approach to investigate functional responses of an avian predator (the rough legged-buzzard buteo lagopus pontoppidan, 1763) to intra-annual spatial variation in rodent density in subarctic sweden, using ... | 2014 | 24448699 |
| [effect of methylnitronitrosoguanidine on dna synthesis in animal cells: decrease in the rate of replication fork movement]. | the effect of methylnitronitrosoguanidine (mnng) on the rate of dna replication fork (rf) progress has been studied by dna fiber autoradiography in asynchronous microtus agrestis and chinese hamster cells. the rate of rf progress has been shown to be decreased by 14% and 36% at mnng concentrations of 50 and 100 microm in m. agrestis cells; the rate of dna synthesis being reduced by 50 and 75% respectively. in chinese hamster cells the mnng concentration of 5 microm does not affect the rate of rf ... | 1989 | 2725536 |
| studies of mammalian chromosome replication. ii. evidence for the existence of defined chromosome replicating units. | sister chromatids of metaphase chromosomes can be differentially stained if the cells have replicated their dna semiconservatively for two cell cycles in a medium containing 5-bromodeoxyuridine (brdu). when prematurely condensed chromosomes (pcc) are induced in cells during the second s phase after brdu is added to the medium, the replicated chromosome segments show sister chromatid differential (scd) staining. employing this pcc-scd system on synchronous and asynchronous chinese hamster ovary ( ... | 1981 | 7028418 |
| differential behavioural and endocrine responses of common voles (microtus arvalis) to nest predators and resource competitors. | adaptive behavioural strategies promoting co-occurrence of competing species are known to result from a sympatric evolutionary past. strategies should be different for indirect resource competition (exploitation, e.g., foraging and avoidance behaviour) than for direct interspecific interference (e.g., aggression, vigilance, and nest guarding). we studied the effects of resource competition and nest predation in sympatric small mammal species using semi-fossorial voles and shrews, which prey on v ... | 2013 | 24010574 |
| rapid karyotype evolution in lasiopodomys involved at least two autosome - sex chromosome translocations. | the generic status of lasiopodomys and its division into subgenera lasiopodomys (l. mandarinus, l. brandtii) and stenocranius (l. gregalis, l. raddei) are not generally accepted because of contradictions between the morphological and molecular data. to obtain cytogenetic evidence for the lasiopodomys genus and its subgenera and to test the autosome to sex chromosome translocation hypothesis of sex chromosome complex origin in l. mandarinus proposed previously, we hybridized chromosome painting p ... | 2016 | 27936177 |
| a comparative analysis of the mole vole sibling species ellobius tancrei and e. talpinus (cricetidae, rodentia) through chromosome painting and examination of synaptonemal complex structures in hybrids. | a comparative genomic analysis was carried out in the mole vole sibling species ellobius tancrei and e. talpinus. performing fluorescent in situ hybridisation (zoo-fish) using chromosome paints from the field vole microtus agrestis showed no differences in the allocation of syntenic groups in the karyotypes of these sibling species. the only difference between their karyotypes was the position of the centromere in one pair of chromosomes, which is assumed to be the result of an inversion. to ver ... | 2012 | 22343488 |
| does avian predation risk depress reproduction of voles? | reproductive output and the growth of captive voles were quantified under high and low avian predation risk in a semi-natural experiment. voles were exposed to eurasian kestrels (falco tinnunculus), the main avian predator of vole species studied (clethrionomys glareolus, microtus agrestis and m. rossiaemeridionalis). vole pairs were housed in cages settled under nest-boxes occupied by breeding kestrels or in control cages settled under empty nest-boxes for 2 weeks. the experiment was conducted ... | 1998 | 28308445 |
| identification of a new species of digenean notocotylus malhamensis n. sp. (digenea: notocotylidae) from the bank vole (myodes glareolus) and the field vole (microtus agrestis). | notocotylus malhamensis n. sp. is described from the caecum of the bank vole (myodes glareolus) and the field vole (microtus agrestis) from malham tarn nature reserve in north yorkshire, uk. in total, 581 specimens were collected from rodents trapped at a wetland site (tarn fen) between july 2010 and october 2011 with a prevalence of 66·7% and mean intensity of 94·6 in the bank vole and 50% prevalence and a mean intensity of 4·3 in the field vole. this species appears to be most closely related ... | 2012 | 23036693 |
| immunohistochemical study of peptide-containing nerves in the gastrointestinal tract of the japanese field vole, microtus montebelli. | the distribution and relative frequency of nerves containing immunoreactivity for substance p (sp), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (vip), gastrin-releasing polypeptide (grp), calcitonin gene-related peptide (cgrp), neuropeptide y (npy) and menthionine-enkephalin (menk) were studied by immunohistochemistry in the gastrointestinal tract of the herbivorous japanese field vole, microtus montebelli. | 1990 | 2240582 |
| the interrelationship of mycophagous small mammals and ectomycorrhizal fungi in primeval, disturbed and managed central european mountainous forests. | small forest dwelling mammals are considered to be major consumers and vectors of hypogeous ectomycorrhizal (ecm) fungi, which have lost the ability of active spore discharge. fungal spore dispersal by mycophagy is deemed an important process involved in forest regeneration, resilience and vitality, primarily based on evidence from australia and the pacific northwestern usa, but is poorly known for central european mountainous forests thus far. small mammal mycophagy was investigated by live tra ... | 2012 | 22466900 |
| [an integrated theory of natural control of animal populations]. | since the twenties of our century, at least 15 theories worth discussing have been developped which intend to explain the causes of natural control of animal populations (for details see schwerdtfeger, 1968). an attempt is made to integrate the different-partly contrary-ideas and new results into a general theory. the basis to start from is the cybernetic principle of feed-back mechanism introduced into population dynamics by wilbert (1962): an actual value (e.g. the inside temperature of a refr ... | 1968 | 28306898 |
| dampening prey cycle overrides the impact of climate change on predator population dynamics: a long-term demographic study on tawny owls. | predicting the dynamics of animal populations with different life histories requires careful understanding of demographic responses to multifaceted aspects of global changes, such as climate and trophic interactions. continent-scale dampening of vole population cycles, keystone herbivores in many ecosystems, has been recently documented across europe. however, its impact on guilds of vole-eating predators remains unknown. to quantify this impact, we used a 27-year study of an avian predator (taw ... | 2014 | 24634279 |
| natal conditions alter age-specific reproduction but not survival or senescence in a long-lived bird of prey. | 1. natal conditions and senescence are two major factors shaping life-history traits of wild animals. however, such factors have rarely been investigated together, and it remains largely unknown whether they interact to affect age-specific performance. 2. we used 27 years of longitudinal data collected on tawny owls with estimates of prey density (field voles) from kielder forest (uk) to investigate how prey density at birth affects ageing patterns in reproduction and survival. 3. natal conditio ... | 2011 | 21466554 |
| demographic, mechanistic and density-dependent determinants of population growth rate: a case study in an avian predator. | identifying the determinants of population growth rate is a central topic in population ecology. three approaches (demographic, mechanistic and density-dependent) used historically to describe the determinants of population growth rate are here compared and combined for an avian predator, the barn owl (tyto alba). the owl population remained approximately stable (r approximately 0) throughout the period from 1979 to 1991. there was no evidence of density dependence as assessed by goodness of fit ... | 2002 | 12396509 |
| fluoride in the prey of barn owls (tyto alba). | bone fluoride in short-tailed voles (microtus agrestis) and common shrews (sorex araneus), the prey of barn owls (tyto alba), was studied on anglesey, north wales. the average fluoride content of m. agrestis skulls obtained from a location 0.9 km from an aluminium reduction plant was significantly greater than that of skulls from another location 22 km from the source of industrial fluoride pollution. at both locations, mean fluoride levels of skulls extracted from owl pellets and those of voles ... | 1987 | 15092770 |
| dampening of population cycles in voles affects small mammal community structure, decreases diversity, and increases prevalence of a zoonotic disease. | long-term decline and depression of density in cyclic small rodents is a recent widespread phenomenon. these observed changes at the population level might have cascading effects at the ecosystem level. here, we assessed relationships between changing boreal landscapes and biodiversity changes of small mammal communities. we also inferred potential effects of observed community changes for increased transmission risk of puumala virus (puuv) spread, causing the zoonotic disease nephropatica epide ... | 2017 | 28770071 |
| spatio-temporal patterns of habitat use in voles and shrews modified by density, season and predators. | 1. although the intrinsic habitat preferences of a species can be considered to be fixed, the realized habitat use depends on the prevailing abiotic and biotic conditions. often the core habitats are occupied by dense and stable populations, while marginal habitats become occupied only at times of high density. in a community of interacting species, habitat uses of different species become inter-related, for example an increased density of a strong competitor forcing a weaker competitor to use m ... | 2012 | 22325037 |
| vole population cycles in northern and southern europe: is there a need for different explanations for single pattern? | 1. students of population cycles in small rodents in fennoscandia have accumulated support for the predation hypothesis, which states that the gradient in cycle length and amplitude running from southern to northern fennoscandia reflects the relative influence of specialist and generalist predators on vole dynamics, itself modulated by the presence of snow cover. the hypothesized role of snow cover is to isolate linked specialist predators, primarily the least weasel, mustela n. nivalis l. and t ... | 2006 | 16637987 |
| population growth and habitat distribution in cyclic small rodents: to expand or to change? | habitat selection determined by intraspecific interactions (social behaviour), being either free or despotic, should result in the largest densities in the most favourable habitat at least in late increase and decline phases of cyclic populations. habitat distribution determined by interspecific effects such as herbivore-plant or predator-prey interactions may result in higher densities in inferior habitats at late peaks and/or declines due to overgrazing of preferred habitats, or invasion of su ... | 1997 | 28307483 |
| voles on small islands: effects of food limitation and alien predation. | ecosystems of three trophic levels may be bottom-up (by food-plant availability) and/or top-down (by predators) limited. top-down control might be of greater consequence when the predation impact comes from an alien predator. we conducted a replicated two-factor experiment with field voles (microtus agrestis) during 2004-2005 on small islands of the outer archipelago of the baltic sea, south-west finland, manipulating both predation impact by introduced american mink (mustela vison) and winter f ... | 2008 | 18607635 |
| guild composition and habitat use of voles in 2 forest landscapes in south-eastern norway. | it is widely believed that intensive forestry has influenced small mammal population dynamics, and thereby the entire mammalian community in fennoscandian boreal forests. the nature of these impacts on the different species is subject to debate. we live-trapped voles between 2006 and 2009 in 2 commercially harvested forests in south-eastern norway. we investigated the variation in vole abundance among habitat types (e.g. mature forest and clear-cut) and the hypothesis that graminivorous species ... | 2011 | 22182322 |
| microtus arvalis and arvicola scherman: key players in the echinococcus multilocularis life cycle. | a broad range of rodent species are described as potential intermediate hosts for echinococcus multilocularis, a wide-spread zoonotic cestode causing alveolar echinococcosis. however, little is known about the relative contribution of these species for parasite reproduction and the maintenance of its life cycle. in a comparative study in a high endemic region in zurich, switzerland, we investigated prevalence rates and fertility of e. multilocularis in the most abundant vole species as well as t ... | 2017 | 29326950 |
| intrachromosomal rearrangements in rodents from the perspective of comparative region-specific painting. | it has long been hypothesized that chromosomal rearrangements play a central role in different evolutionary processes, particularly in speciation and adaptation. interchromosomal rearrangements have been extensively mapped using chromosome painting. however, intrachromosomal rearrangements have only been described using molecular cytogenetics in a limited number of mammals, including a few rodent species. this situation is unfortunate because intrachromosomal rearrangements are more abundant tha ... | 2017 | 28867774 |
| a candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (microtus agrestis). | the animal immune response has hitherto been viewed primarily in the context of resistance only. however, individuals, can also employ a tolerance strategy to maintain good health in the face of on-going infection. to shed light on the genetic and physiological basis of tolerance, we use a natural population of field voles, microtus agrestis, to search for an association between the expression of the transcription factor gata3, previously identified as a marker of tolerance in this system, and p ... | 2017 | 29290094 |
| seasonal shift of diet in bank voles explains trophic fate of anthropogenic osmium? | diet shifts are common in mammals and birds, but little is known about how such shifts along the food web affect contaminant exposure. voles are staple food for many mammalian and avian predators. there is therefore a risk of transfer of contaminants accumulated in voles within the food chain. osmium is one of the rarest earth elements with osmium tetroxide (oso4) as the most toxic vapor-phase airborne contaminant. anthropogenic oso4 accumulates in fruticose lichens that are important winter foo ... | 2017 | 29079088 |
| from the animal house to the field: are there consistent individual differences in immunological profile in wild populations of field voles (microtus agrestis)? | inbred mouse strains, living in simple laboratory environments far removed from nature, have been shown to vary consistently in their immune response. however, wildlife populations are typically outbreeding and face a multiplicity of challenges, parasitological and otherwise. in this study we seek evidence of consistent difference in immunological profile amongst individuals in the wild. we apply a novel method in this context, using longitudinal (repeated capture) data from natural populations ... | 2017 | 28817724 |
| endemic hantavirus in field voles, northern england. | we report a pcr survey of hantavirus infection in an extensive field vole (microtus agrestis) population present in the kielder forest, northern england. a tatenale virus-like lineage was frequently detected (≈17% prevalence) in liver tissue. lineages genetically similar to tatenale virus are likely to be endemic in northern england. | 2017 | 28518021 |
| food limitation constrains host immune responses to nematode infections. | trade-offs in the allocation of finite-energy resources among immunological defences and other physiological processes are believed to influence infection risk and disease severity in food-limited wildlife populations. however, this prediction has received little experimental investigation. here we test the hypothesis that food limitation impairs the ability of wild field voles (microtus agrestis) to mount an immune response against parasite infections. we conducted a replicated experiment on vo ... | 2016 | 27677814 |
| tooth wear as a means to quantify intra-specific variations in diet and chewing movements. | in mammals, tooth function, and its efficiency, depends both on the mechanical properties of the food and on chewing dynamics. these aspects have rarely been studied in combination and/or at the intra-specific level. here we applied 3d dental surface texture analysis to a sample of field voles (microtus agrestis) trapped from finnish lapland at different seasons and localities to test for inter-population variations. we also explored intra-individual variation in chewing dynamics by analysing tw ... | 2016 | 27658531 |
| anesthetic effects of a combination of medetomidine, midazolam and butorphanol on the production of offspring in japanese field vole, microtus montebelli. | pentobarbital sodium (somnopentyl) can induce surgical anesthesia with a strong hypnotic effect that causes loss of consciousness. animals have been known to die during experimental surgery under anesthesia with somnopentyl, causing it to be declared inadequate as a general anesthetic for single treatment. an anesthetic combination of 0.3 mg/kg medetomidine, 4.0 mg/kg midazolam and 5.0 mg/kg butorphanol (m/m/b:0.3/4/5) was reported to induce anesthesia for a duration of around 40 min in icr mice ... | 2016 | 27238159 |
| long-term population patterns of rodents and associated damage in german forestry. | several rodent species can damage forest trees, especially at young tree age in afforestation. population outbreaks of field voles (microtus agrestis l.) and bank voles (myodes glareolus schreber) in particular can cause losses. | 2017 | 27233231 |
| establishment of superovulation procedure in japanese field vole, microtus montebelli. | japanese field vole (microtus montebelli) is a wild-derived rodent and have unique characteristic. thus, these species have been expected as model animal. this study was performed to develop novel superovulation procedure for japanese field vole. first, when 30 iu pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (pmsg) and 30 iu human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg) were administrated 48 hours apart, females showed higher response to hcg compared with three concentrations of pmsg. second, to effectively induce o ... | 2016 | 27118387 |
| discovery of novel alphacoronaviruses in european rodents and shrews. | eight hundred and thirteen european rodents and shrews encompassing seven different species were screened for alphacoronaviruses using pcr detection. novel alphacoronaviruses were detected in the species rattus norvegicus, microtus agrestis, sorex araneus and myodes glareolus. these, together with the recently described lucheng virus found in china, form a distinct rodent/shrew-specific clade within the coronavirus phylogeny. across a highly conserved region of the viral polymerase gene, the new ... | 2016 | 27102167 |
| epigenetic modifications in sex heterochromatin of vole rodents. | the genome of some vole rodents contains large blocks of heterochromatin coupled to the sex chromosomes. while the dna content of these heterochromatic blocks has been extensively analyzed, little is known about the epigenetic modifications controlling their structure and dynamics. to better understand its organization and functions within the nucleus, we have compared the distribution pattern of several epigenetic marks in cells from two species, microtus agrestis and microtus cabrerae. we firs ... | 2015 | 25527445 |
| spatial analyses of wildlife contact networks. | datasets from which wildlife contact networks of epidemiological importance can be inferred are becoming increasingly common. a largely unexplored facet of these data is finding evidence of spatial constraints on who has contact with whom, despite theoretical epidemiologists having long realized spatial constraints can play a critical role in infectious disease dynamics. a graph dissimilarity measure is proposed to quantify how close an observed contact network is to being purely spatial whereby ... | 2015 | 25411407 |
| silicon, endophytes and secondary metabolites as grass defenses against mammalian herbivores. | grasses have been considered to primarily employ tolerance in lieu of defense in mitigating damage caused by herbivory. yet a number of mechanisms have been identified in grasses, which may deter feeding by grazers. these include enhanced silicon uptake, hosting of toxin-producing endophytic fungi and induction of secondary metabolites. while these mechanisms have been individually studied, their synergistic responses to grazing, as well as their effects on grazers, are poorly known. a field exp ... | 2014 | 25278951 |
| land-bridge calibration of molecular clocks and the post-glacial colonization of scandinavia by the eurasian field vole microtus agrestis. | phylogeography interprets molecular genetic variation in a spatial and temporal context. molecular clocks are frequently used to calibrate phylogeographic analyses, however there is mounting evidence that molecular rates decay over the relevant timescales. it is therefore essential that an appropriate rate is determined, consistent with the temporal scale of the specific analysis. this can be achieved by using temporally spaced data such as ancient dna or by relating the divergence of lineages d ... | 2014 | 25111840 |
| an immunological marker of tolerance to infection in wild rodents. | hosts are likely to respond to parasitic infections by a combination of resistance (expulsion of pathogens) and tolerance (active mitigation of pathology). of these strategies, the basis of tolerance in animal hosts is relatively poorly understood, with especially little known about how tolerance is manifested in natural populations. we monitored a natural population of field voles using longitudinal and cross-sectional sampling modes and taking measurements on body condition, infection, immune ... | 2014 | 25004450 |
| diet quality limits summer growth of field vole populations. | marked variation occurs in both seasonal and multiannual population density peaks of northern european small mammal species, including voles. the availability of dietary proteins is a key factor limiting the population growth of herbivore species. the objective of this study is to investigate the degree to which protein availability influences the growth of increasing vole populations. we hypothesise that the summer growth of folivorous vole populations is positively associated with dietary prot ... | 2014 | 24621513 |
| a coupled hidden markov model for disease interactions. | to investigate interactions between parasite species in a host, a population of field voles was studied longitudinally, with presence or absence of six different parasites measured repeatedly. although trapping sessions were regular, a different set of voles was caught at each session, leading to incomplete profiles for all subjects. we use a discrete time hidden markov model for each disease with transition probabilities dependent on covariates via a set of logistic regressions. for each diseas ... | 2013 | 24223436 |
| invasion and genome reproduction of the trophoblast cells of placenta junctional zone in the field vole, microtus rossiaemeridionalis. | in the field vole microtus rossiaemeridionalis, like in other rodents, invasive secondary giant trophoblast cells (sgtc) form a continuous layer at the foeto-maternal interface in the beginning of placentation. however, in the field vole, at midgestation, clusters of junctional zone (jz) trophoblast non-giant cells interrupt sgtc layer and progressively replace sgtc at the border of decidua basalis. as a result, 'border' cells form a continuous stratum of cytokeratin-positive glycogen-rich cells ... | 2014 | 24155276 |
| differences in vole preference, secondary chemistry and nutrient levels between naturally regenerated and planted norway spruce seedlings. | field voles (microtus agrestis) cause severe damage to young norway spruce (picea abies) plantations during wintertime in fennoscandia. we experimentally investigated vole preference for winter-dormant, naturally regenerated seedlings; spring-planted seedlings; or autumn-planted seedlings; and how preference corresponds with seedling chemistry. voles showed the highest preference for autumn-planted seedlings and the second highest for spring-planted seedlings, while naturally regenerated seedlin ... | 2013 | 24105602 |
| gene flow and population structure of a common agricultural wild species (microtus agrestis) under different land management regimes. | the impact of landscape structure and land management on dispersal of populations of wild species inhabiting the agricultural landscape was investigated focusing on the field vole (microtus agrestis) in three different areas in denmark using molecular genetic markers. the main hypotheses were the following: (i) organic farms act as genetic sources and diversity reservoirs for species living in agricultural areas and (ii) gene flow and genetic structure in the agricultural landscape are influence ... | 2013 | 23900396 |
| deleterious consequences of antioxidant supplementation on lifespan in a wild-derived mammal. | while oxidative damage owing to reactive oxygen species (ros) often increases with advancing age and is associated with many age-related diseases, its causative role in ageing is controversial. in particular, studies that have attempted to modulate ros-induced damage, either upwards or downwards, using antioxidant or genetic approaches, generally do not show a predictable effect on lifespan. here, we investigated whether dietary supplementation with either vitamin e (α-tocopherol) or vitamin c ( ... | 2013 | 23825087 |
| novel hantavirus in wildlife, united kingdom | | 2013 | 23750506 |
| cryptic speciation in the field vole: a multilocus approach confirms three highly divergent lineages in eurasia. | species are generally described from morphological features, but there is growing recognition of sister forms that show substantial genetic differentiation without obvious morphological variation and may therefore be considered 'cryptic species'. here, we investigate the field vole (microtus agrestis), a eurasian mammal with little apparent morphological differentiation but which, on the basis of previous sex-linked nuclear and mitochondrial dna (mtdna) analyses, is subdivided into a northern an ... | 2012 | 23163319 |
| post-hoc pattern-oriented testing and tuning of an existing large model: lessons from the field vole. | pattern-oriented modeling (pom) is a general strategy for modeling complex systems. in pom, multiple patterns observed at different scales and hierarchical levels are used to optimize model structure, to test and select sub-models of key processes, and for calibration. so far, pom has been used for developing new models and for models of low to moderate complexity. it remains unclear, though, whether the basic idea of pom to utilize multiple patterns, could also be used to test and possibly deve ... | 2012 | 23049882 |
| [functional features of microbial communities in the digestive tract of field voles (microtus rossiaemeridionalis and clethrionomys glareolus)]. | the nitrogen-fixating and cellobiohydrolase activity, the nitrogen (n) and carbon (c) contents, and the number of microorganisms in the prestomach, cecum, and colon of two vole species were studied: the southern vole (microtus rossiaemeridionalis) and the bank vole (clethrionomys glareolus), which is characterized by a mixed type of diet. the nitrogen-fixating activity in the cecum was found to be the highest in the voles compared with the mammals studied earlier. the seasonal dynamics of both n ... | 2016 | 22988758 |
| rodent damage to natural and replanted mountain forest regeneration. | impact of small rodents on mountain forest regeneration was studied in national nature reserve in the beskydy mountains (czech republic). a considerable amount of bark damage was found on young trees (20%) in spring after the peak abundance of field voles (microtus agrestis) in combination with long winter with heavy snowfall. in contrast, little damage to young trees was noted under high densities of bank voles (myodes glareolus) with a lower snow cover the following winter. the bark of deciduo ... | 2012 | 22666163 |
| evidence for selection at cytokine loci in a natural population of field voles (microtus agrestis). | individuals in natural populations are frequently exposed to a wide range of pathogens. given the diverse profile of gene products involved in responses to different types of pathogen, this potentially results in complex pathogen-specific selection pressures acting on a broad spectrum of immune system genes in wild animals. thus far, studies into the evolution of immune genes in natural populations have focused almost exclusively on the major histocompatibility complex (mhc). however, the mhc re ... | 2012 | 22364125 |
| asymmetric and differential gene introgression at a contact zone between two highly divergent lineages of field voles (microtus agrestis). | secondary contact zones have the potential to shed light on the mode and rate at which reproductive isolation accumulates during allopatric speciation. we investigated the population genetics of a contact zone between two highly divergent lineages of field voles (microtus agrestis) in the swiss jura mountains. to shed light on the processes underlying introgression, we used maternally, paternally, and bi-parentally inherited markers. though the two lineages maintained a strong genetic structure, ... | 2012 | 22150868 |
| genetic diversity in cytokines associated with immune variation and resistance to multiple pathogens in a natural rodent population. | pathogens are believed to drive genetic diversity at host loci involved in immunity to infectious disease. to date, studies exploring the genetic basis of pathogen resistance in the wild have focussed almost exclusively on genes of the major histocompatibility complex (mhc); the role of genetic variation elsewhere in the genome as a basis for variation in pathogen resistance has rarely been explored in natural populations. cytokines are signalling molecules with a role in many immunological and ... | 2011 | 22039363 |
| how predation and landscape fragmentation affect vole population dynamics. | microtine species in fennoscandia display a distinct north-south gradient from regular cycles to stable populations. the gradient has often been attributed to changes in the interactions between microtines and their predators. although the spatial structure of the environment is known to influence predator-prey dynamics of a wide range of species, it has scarcely been considered in relation to the fennoscandian gradient. furthermore, the length of microtine breeding season also displays a north- ... | 2011 | 21829528 |
| breeding state and season affect interspecific interaction types: indirect resource competition and direct interference. | indirect resource competition and interference are widely occurring mechanisms of interspecific interactions. we have studied the seasonal expression of these two interaction types within a two-species, boreal small mammal system. seasons differ by resource availability, individual breeding state and intraspecific social system. live-trapping methods were used to monitor space use and reproduction in 14 experimental populations of bank voles myodes glareolus in large outdoor enclosures with and ... | 2011 | 21597944 |
| post-glacial partitioning of mitochondrial genetic variation in the field vole. | genetic markers are often used to examine population history. there is considerable debate about the behaviour of molecular clock rates around the population-species transition. nevertheless, appropriate calibration is critical to any inference regarding the absolute timing and scale of demographic changes. here, we use a mitochondrial cytochrome b gene genealogy, based entirely on modern sequences and calibrated from recent geophysical events, to date the post-glacial expansion of the eurasian ... | 2011 | 21508032 |
| the analysis of immunological profiles in wild animals: a case study on immunodynamics in the field vole, microtus agrestis. | a revolutionary advance in ecological immunology is that postgenomic technologies now allow molecular mediators defined in laboratory models to be measured at the mrna level in field studies of many naturally occurring species. here, we demonstrate the application of such an approach to generate meaningful immunological profiles for wild mammals. we sampled a natural field vole population across the year (n = 307) and developed a battery of cellular assays in which functionally different pro- an ... | 2011 | 21059128 |