| sex-biased parasitism is not universal: evidence from rodent-flea associations from three biomes. | the distribution of parasites among individual hosts is characterised by high variability that is believed to be a result of variations in host traits. to find general patterns of host traits affecting parasite abundance, we studied flea infestation of nine rodent species from three different biomes (temperate zone of central europe, desert of middle east and tropics of east africa). we tested for independent and interactive effects of host sex and body mass on the number of fleas harboured by a ... | 2013 | 23636459 |
| [comparative morpho-functional characteristics of the organs of the reproductive system of small mammals under conditions of anthropogenic transformation of southern ural steppe ecosystems]. | the morpho-functional characteristics of reproductive organs of small mammals--striped field mouse (apodemus agrarius pallas, 1771), house mouse (mus musculus linnaeus, 1758), wood mouse (sylvaemus uralensis pallas, 1811), common vole (microtus arvalis pallas, 1778), bank vole (clethrionomys glareolus schreber, 1780), steppe lemming (lagurus lagurus pallas, 1773), little suslik (spermophilus pygmaeus pallas, 1778), and red-heeked suslik (spermophilus major pallas, 1779)--belonging to the populat ... | 2013 | 24592716 |
| age-dependent flea (siphonaptera) parasitism in rodents: a host's life history matters. | we studied age-dependent patterns of flea infestation in 7 species of rodents from slovakia (apodemus agrarius, a. flavicollis, a. sylvaticus, a. uralensis, clethrionomys glareolus, microtus arvalis, and m. subterraneus). we estimated the age of the host from its body mass and expected the host age-dependent pattern of flea abundance, the level of aggregation, and prevalence to be in agreement with theoretical predictions. we expected that the mean abundance and the level of aggregation of fleas ... | 2006 | 16729679 |
| occurrence and maintenance of hantavirus infections among rodent populations in their natural habitat--results of a field study from podkarpackie province, poland 2010-2012. | human cases of hantavirus infection have been reported annually in poland's podkarpackie province, since 2007. in 2014 the number of cases reported significantly increased prompting a rise in studies focusing on the infection. | 2015 | 26233088 |
| a comparative analysis of the heavy metal loading of small mammals in different regions of bulgaria ii: chromosomal aberrations and blood pathology. | heavy metal content was monitored in small mammals inhabiting mountain ecosystems and two industrial polluted regions in bulgaria. rodents (microtus arvalis, m. rossiaemeridionalis, clethrionomys glareolus, pitymys subterraneus, chionomys nivalis, apodemus flavicollis, a. sylvaticus, and mus macedonicus) were used as zoomonitors. pathological changes in chromosome status, hematological indices, and blood cell morphology were analyzed in the context of heavy metal bioaccumulation. significant cor ... | 2003 | 12550096 |
| 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 |
| rodent food quality and its relation to crops and other environmental and population parameters in an agricultural landscape. | the diet, its quality and quantity considerably influence population parameters of rodents. in this study, we used nirs methods for estimation of nitrogen content in stomachs of rodent populations. the study was carried out in diverse arable landscape in south moravia, czech republic. rodents were sampled in cultural crops (alfalfa, barley, wheat, sunflower, maize and rape) as well as in fallow habitats (herbal set-aside and old orchard). influence of habitat, date, year, individual parameters ( ... | 2016 | 27099997 |
| 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 |
| responses of wild small mammals to arsenic pollution at a partially remediated mining site in southern france. | partial remediation actions at a former gold mine in southern france led to a mosaic of contaminated and rehabilitated zones. in this study, the distribution of arsenic and its potential adverse effects on small mammals were investigated. the effectiveness of remediation for reducing the transfer of this element into wildlife was also discussed. arsenic levels were measured in the soil and in the stomach contents, livers, kidneys, and lungs of four small mammal species (the wood mouse (apodemus ... | 2014 | 24239822 |
| eye morphology in some wild rodents. | the eye anatomy of six rodent species (murinae: apodemus sylvaticus, mus domesticus, and mus spretus; arvicolinae: clethrionomys glareolus, arvicola terrestris and microtus arvalis) was compared by means of light or electron microscopy to determine adaptive, and evolutive signals. our observations revealed inter-specific morphological differences, which were moderate among representatives of the same subfamily. specifically, traits that distinguished murines from arvicolines were the globe's rel ... | 2008 | 18197899 |
| avian predation upon a mixed community of common voles (microtus arvalis) and wood mice (apodemus sylvaticus). | pellets of diurnal avian predators (mainly kestrels and buzzards) were analysed to prove the hypothesis of selective predation for a mixed population of small rodents. it was found that voles heavily predominated as prey over mice (up to a factor of 19 during winter). within both prey species, predation focussed on distinct parts of the populations: during winter the heaviest specimens were preferentially captured, during summer the subadults were in an exposed position. in the voles, an additio ... | 1988 | 28312695 |
| small mammals as reservoirs and transmitters of leptospires in livestock-breeding farms and their surroundings. | from 1976 to 1978, we examined 1723 wild small mammals, representing 15 species, from three animal production farms and their surroundings in the trebon basin, south bohemia, in order to detect antibodies against leptospirosis. antibodies were found against the serovars grippotyphosa, sorex-jalna, sejroe and/or istrica. the serological positivity was higher in wet grassland stands and fields bordering fishponds. the dominant serovar was grippotyphosa against which antibodies were detected in 8 s ... | 1983 | 6662412 |
| [pcr identification of dna of hosts of the taiga tick nymphs (ixodes persulcatus: ixodinae) in st. petersburg and its suburbs]. | pcr identification of host dna in unfed females and males of taiga tick ixodes persulcatus was performed. amplification of each sample was done using primers species-specific by 12s rdna mitochondrial gene. four species of small mammals (apodemus uralensis, clethrionomys glareolus, microtus arvalis, and sorex araneus) and two passeriform bird species (fringilla coelebs and parus major) were analysed. for one third of tick samples, hosts of previous stages were established using this method. in f ... | 2012 | 22384683 |
| kinetics of bromadiolone in rodent populations and implications for predators after field control of the water vole, arvicola terrestris. | we document the kinetics of bromadiolone in two rodent populations after a field control of water voles, and their implications for predator exposure. water voles and common voles were trapped aboveground and underground from 1 to 135 days after bromadiolone treatment in the field. livers, digestive tracts, and rests of the body were analyzed separately. our results indicate that 99.6% of the water voles trapped underground and 41% of the common voles trapped aboveground contain bromadiolone res ... | 2008 | 18954894 |
| contaminant exposure in relation to spatio-temporal variation in diet composition: a case study of the little owl (athene noctua). | we assessed dietary exposure of the little owl athene noctua to trace metal contamination in a dutch rhine river floodplain area. diet composition was calculated per month for three habitat types, based on the population densities of six prey types (earthworms, ground beetles and four small mammal species) combined with the little owl's functional response to these prey types. exposure levels showed a strong positive relationship with the dietary fraction of earthworms, but also depended on the ... | 2012 | 22325438 |
| review of anthraquinone applications for pest management and agricultural crop protection. | we have reviewed published anthraquinone applications for international pest management and agricultural crop protection from 1943 to 2016. anthraquinone (aq) is commonly found in dyes, pigments and many plants and organisms. avian repellent research with aq began in the 1940s. in the context of pest management, aq is currently used as a chemical repellent, perch deterrent, insecticide and feeding deterrent in many wild birds, and in some mammals, insects and fishes. criteria for evaluation of e ... | 2016 | 27252044 |
| induced pluripotent stem cells of microtus levis x microtus arvalis vole hybrids: conditions necessary for their generation and self-renewal. | every year, the list of mammalian species for which cultures of pluripotent stem cells (pscs) are generated increases. pscs are a unique tool for extending the limits of experimental studies and modeling different biological processes. in this work, induced pluripotent stem cells (ipscs) from the hybrids of common voles microtus levis and microtus arvalis, which are used as model objects to study genome organization on the molecular-genetic level and the mechanisms of x-chromosome inactivation, ... | 2017 | 26798492 |
| [a new method of gatheing ecological data on the common buzzard (buteo buteo) and on the field mouse (microtus arvalis)]. | in treeless regions the common buzzard uses the towers of electric overhead transmission lines (110-150 kv) for roosting. the streams of excrement bring about flash-overs which can be registered according to date and time of day. these records provide information as to diurnal and annual rhythms, as wells as to the relationships existing between topographical and climatic factors and the population density of the birds.ninety per cent of the animals leave the roosting place between 42 minutes be ... | 1971 | 28311254 |
| demodex microti n. sp. (acari: demodecidae) in microtus arvalis (pallas) (rodentia, cricetidae) with a checklist of the demodecid mites of cricetids. | demodex microti n. sp. (acari, demodecidae) is described from the skin of the genital area of the common vole microtus arvalis (pallas) in poland based on the morphology of the adult and immature stages. the new species appears most similar to d. cricetuli hurley & desch, 1994 from the gray dwarf hamster, cricetulus migratorius (pallas), but differs in the following features: the supracoxal spines are conical and located at the edge of the gnathosoma, the spines of the terminal segment of palp a ... | 2013 | 24048750 |
| a novel satellite dna sequence in the peromyscus genome (pmsat): evolution via copy number fluctuation. | satellite dnas (satdna) are tandemly arrayed repeated sequences largely present in eukaryotic genomes, which play important roles in genome evolution and function, and therefore, their analysis is vital. here, we describe the isolation of a novel satellite dna family (pmsat) from the rodent peromyscus eremicus (cricetidae, rodentia), which is located in pericentromeric regions and exhibits a typical satellite dna genome organization. orthologous pmsat sequences were isolated and characterized fr ... | 2015 | 26103000 |
| 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 |
| kestrel-prey dynamic in a mediterranean region: the effect of generalist predation and climatic factors. | most hypotheses on population limitation of small mammals and their predators come from studies carried out in northern latitudes, mainly in boreal ecosystems. in such regions, many predators specialize on voles and predator-prey systems are simpler compared to southern ecosystems where predator communities are made up mostly of generalists and predator-prey systems are more complex. determining food limitation in generalist predators is difficult due to their capacity to switch to alternative p ... | 2009 | 19234618 |
| rate of metabolism during lactation in small terrestrial mammals (crocidura russula, mus domesticus and microtus arvalis). | basal rate of metabolism (bmr) and resting maternal rate of metabolism around peak lactation (rmr(l)) were measured in crocidura russula, mus domesticus and microtus arvalis. these species have a moderate or high bmr relative to the scaling relationship of kleiber. one goal of the study was to check whether females of these species show elevated rates of metabolism during lactation. a second goal was to test for a possible intraspecific correlation between the level of bmr and the change in rate ... | 2006 | 16630734 |
| avian predators as a biological control system of common vole (microtus arvalis) populations in north-western spain: experimental set-up and preliminary results. | ecologically based rodent pest management using biological control has never been evaluated for vole plagues in europe, although it has been successfully tested in other systems. the authors report on the first large-scale replicated experiment to study the usefulness of nest-box installation for increasing the breeding density of common kestrels (falco tinnunculus) and barn owls (tyto alba) as a potential biological control of common vole (microtus arvalis) abundance in agricultural habitats in ... | 2013 | 22517676 |
| sarcocystis cernae: a parasite increasing the risk of predation of its intermediate host, microtus arvalis. | 1)the transmission dynamics of the protozoan parasite sarcocystis carnae (černá and loučková 1976) (apicomplexa, eimeroidea, sarcocystidae) in natural populations were studied in the lauwersmeerpolder in the northern netherlands. this parasite needs two hosts to complete its life cycle; the common vole (microtus arvalis) as its intermediate host and the kestrel (falco tinnunculus) which preys on the vole, as its final host. 2) seasonal variation in prevalence of infection in snap-trapped common ... | 1987 | 28310419 |
| hunting in the kestrel, falco tinnunculus, and the adaptive significance of daily habits. | 1. in an attempt to evaluate the importance of individual daily habits to a freeliving animal, foraging behaviour of kestrels was observed continuously for days in sequence in open country. data obtained in 2,942 observation hours were used. flight-hunting was the prominent foraging technique yielding 76% of all prey obtained. 2. flight-hunting was impeded by rain, fog and wind speeds below 4 m/s and above 12 m/s (fig. 3). flight-hunting tended to be suppressed also in response to recent success ... | 1981 | 28309060 |
| microtus arvalis as the intermediate host of a coccidian from the kestrel (falco tinnunculus). | | 1976 | 819334 |
| barn owl productivity response to variability of vole populations. | we studied the response of the barn owl annual productivity to the common vole population numbers and variability to test the effects of environmental stochasticity on their life histories. current theory predicts that temporal environmental variability can affect long-term nonlinear responses (e.g., production of young) both positively and negatively, depending on the shape of the relationship between the response and environmental variables. at the level of the czech republic, we examined the ... | 2015 | 26709518 |
| density-dependent prevalence of francisella tularensis in fluctuating vole populations, northwestern spain. | tularemia in humans in northwestern spain is associated with increases in vole populations. prevalence of infection with francisella tularensis in common voles increased to 33% during a vole population fluctuation. this finding confirms that voles are spillover agents for zoonotic outbreaks. ecologic interactions associated with tularemia prevention should be considered. | 2017 | 28726608 |
| eight whole-genome assemblies of yersinia pestis subsp. microtus bv. caucasica isolated from the common vole (microtus arvalis) plague focus in dagestan, russia. | we here report the draft genome sequences of 8 yersinia pestis subsp. microtus bv. caucasica strains isolated from the east caucasian (previous name, dagestan) mountain focus (no. 39), representing the most ancient branch of the 0.pe2 phylogroup circulating in populations of common voles (microtus arvalis). | 2017 | 28839028 |
| 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 |
| diversity and prevalence of bartonella species in small mammals from slovakia, central europe. | wild-living rodents are important hosts for zoonotic pathogens. bartonella infections are widespread in rodents; however, in slovakia, knowledge on the prevalence of these bacteria in small mammals is limited. we investigated the prevalence and diversity of bartonella species in the spleens of 640 rodents of six species (apodemus flavicollis, apodemus sylvaticus, myodes glareolus, microtus arvalis, microtus subterraneus, and micromys minutus) and in the european mole (talpa europaea) from three ... | 2017 | 28975409 |
| 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 |
| [care of young, aggressiveness, and secretion of testosterone in male rodents: a correlation analysis ]. | to test the current hypotheses on the relationship between the mating system, reproductive strategy, aggression, and secretion of testosterone, a comparative study of interactions in pair encounters, the level of parental care, and the gonadal testosterone level in males was performed in six rodent species (clethrionomys rutilus, meriones meridianus, microtus arvalis, lagurus lagurus, lasiopodomys mandarinus, and meriones unguiculatus) with different types of spatial-and-ethological population s ... | 2016 | 25510112 |
| parental care, aggressiveness, and testosterone secretion in male common voles (microtus arvalis) and steppe lemmings (lagurus lagurus). | | 2017 | 20506841 |
| dynamics and trophic interactions of small rodents: landscape or regional effects on spatial variation? | geographically varying rodent dynamics may be due to specific landscape effects or to regional variation. two common vole species (clethrionomys glareolus and microtus agrestis), their main predators and their impact on some important food items were monitored in sweden on forest clearcuts in two different landscape types, situated in two different regions with different climatic conditions. censuses, with 10-16 clearcuts in each landscape and both landscapes in the two regions, were designed to ... | 2002 | 28547149 |
| [breeding and rearing of japanese field voles (microtus montebelli milne-edwards) and hungarian voles (microtus arvalis pallas) as new herbivorous laboratory animal species]. | microtus species are very useful as experimental small animals with herbivorous characteristics. in this report, to approach establishment of the use of japanese field voles (m. montebelli) and hungarian voles (m. arvalis) as experimental animals, the biological characteristics, breeding methods and reproductive performance of these animal species were comparatively investigated. the number of chromosomes of m. arvalis is 12n = 46, differing from those of m. montebelli, 2n = 30. the breeding and ... | 1982 | 6754391 |
| on the multiple forms of the liver acid phosphatase from the common field vole, microtus arvalis. | | 1976 | 786539 |
| the method of intragastric administration of fluids to field voles (microtus arvalis pallas). | | 1975 | 1136605 |
| [histochemical modifications of the adrenal cortex of the field vole (microtus arvalis p.) after castration]. | | 1952 | 13020061 |
| cryptosporidium apodemi sp. n. and cryptosporidium ditrichi sp. n. (apicomplexa: cryptosporidiidae) in apodemus spp. | faecal samples from striped field mice (n = 72) and yellow-necked mice (n = 246) were screened for cryptosporidium by microscopy and pcr/sequencing. phylogenetic analysis of small-subunit rrna, cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein and actin gene sequences revealed the presence of c. parvum, c. hominis, c. muris and two new species, c. apodemi and c. ditrichi. oocysts of c. apodemi are smaller than c. ditrichi and both are experimentally infectious for yellow-necked mice but not for common voles. ... | 2018 | 29360041 |
| control of rest:activity by a dopaminergic ultradian oscillator and the circadian clock. | there is long-standing evidence for rhythms in locomotor activity, as well as various other aspects of physiology, with periods substantially shorter than 24 h in organisms ranging from fruit flies to humans. these ultradian oscillations, whose periods frequently fall between 2 and 6 h, are normally well integrated with circadian rhythms; however, they often lack the period stability and expression robustness of the latter. an adaptive advantage of ultradian rhythms has been clearly demonstrated ... | 2017 | 29230188 |
| influence of no-tillage versus tillage system on common vole (microtus arvalis) population density. | while the 'no-tillage' management system generally improves soil properties and helps to control arthropod pests, it may also intensify crop infestation by the common vole (microtus arvalis pallas). in this study, we evaluated the impact of soil management (no-tillage, tillage), crop and previous crop (winter wheat, winter rape), and season (spring, autumn) on common vole density using data from the common vole monitoring programme undertaken by the plant protection service of the czech republic ... | 2017 | 29193739 |
| epidemiological investigations of four cowpox virus outbreaks in alpaca herds, germany. | four cowpox virus (cpxv) outbreaks occurred in unrelated alpaca herds in eastern germany during 2012-2017. all incidents were initially noticed due to severe, generalized, and finally lethal cpxv infections, which were confirmed by testing of tissue and serum samples. as cpxv-infection has been described in south american camelids (sacs) only three times, all four herds were investigated to gain a deeper understanding of cpxv epidemiology in alpacas. the different herds were investigated twice, ... | 2017 | 29156539 |
| environmental surveillance during an outbreak of tularaemia in hares, the netherlands, 2015. | tularaemia, a disease caused by the bacterium francisella tularensis, is a re-emerging zoonosis in the netherlands. after sporadic human and hare cases occurred in the period 2011 to 2014, a cluster of f. tularensis-infected hares was recognised in a region in the north of the netherlands from february to may 2015. no human cases were identified, including after active case finding. presence of f. tularensis was investigated in potential reservoirs and transmission routes, including common voles ... | 2017 | 28877846 |
| cryptosporidium infecting wild cricetid rodents from the subfamilies arvicolinae and neotominae. | we undertook a study on cryptosporidium spp. in wild cricetid rodents. fecal samples were collected from meadow voles (microtus pennsylvanicus), southern red-backed voles (myodes gapperi), woodland voles (microtus pinetorum), muskrats (ondatra zibethicus) and peromyscus spp. mice in north america, and from bank voles (myodes glareolus) and common voles (microtus arvalis) in europe. isolates were characterized by sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the small subunit ribosomal rna (ssu) and acti ... | 2017 | 28870264 |
| difference in susceptibility of small rodent host species to infestation by ixodes ricinus larvae. | in a laboratory experiment (repeated eight times) individuals of six small rodent species were mixed with 500 ixodes ricinus larvae for 24 h, than over a 3-day-long observation period engorged ticks fallen from individually kept rodents were counted. forty engorged larvae fell from the hosts, 25% from striped field mice, 32.5% from house mice, 22.5% from common voles, 10% from bank voles, while wood mouse and steppe mouse proved to be almost free of successfully infesting ticks (both 5%). statis ... | 2017 | 28593480 |
| between the balkans and the baltic: phylogeography of a common vole mitochondrial dna lineage limited to central europe. | the common vole (microtus arvalis) has been a model species of small mammal for studying end-glacial colonization history. in the present study we expanded the sampling from central and eastern europe, analyzing contemporary genetic structure to identify the role of a potential 'northern glacial refugium', i.e. a refugium at a higher latitude than the traditional mediterranean refugia. altogether we analyzed 786 cytochrome b (cytb) sequences (representing mitochondrial dna; mtdna) from the whole ... | 2016 | 27992546 |
| like or dislike: response of rodents to the odor of plant secondary metabolites. | rodents, including common voles (microtus arvalis) and house mice (mus musculus) cause immense pre-harvest and post-harvest losses. therefore, developing methods that mitigate these losses while maintaining their role in ecosystems is a priority. several plant secondary metabolites (psm) which significantly reduce food intake of both species under laboratory conditions have been identified. however, before these can be used in rodent pest management, they must be tested under more natural condit ... | 2017 | 27992117 |
| rodents: food or pests in neolithic orkney. | rodents have important effects on contemporary human societies, sometimes providing a source of food but more often as agricultural pests, or as vectors and reservoirs of disease. skeletal remains of rodents are commonly found in archaeological assemblages from around the world, highlighting their potential importance to ancient human populations. however, there are few studies of the interactions between people and rodents at such sites and most of these are confined to locations where rodents ... | 2016 | 27853568 |
| cytological basis of sterility in male and female hybrids between sibling species of grey voles microtus arvalis and m. levis. | to make insight into the cytological basis of reproductive isolation, we examined chromosome synapsis and recombination in sterile male and female hybrids between microtus arvalis and m. levis. these sibling species differ by a series of chromosomal rearrangements (fusions, inversions, centromere shifts and heterochromatin insertions). we found that meiosis in male hybrids was arrested at leptotene with complete failure of chromosome pairing and dna double-strand breaks repair. in the female hyb ... | 2016 | 27811955 |
| seed preferences by rodents in the agri-environment and implications for biological weed control. | post-dispersal seed predation and endozoochorous seed dispersal are two antagonistic processes in relation to plant recruitment, but rely on similar preconditions such as feeding behavior of seed consumers and seed traits. in agricultural landscapes, rodents are considered important seed predators, thereby potentially providing regulating ecosystem services in terms of biological weed control. however, their potential to disperse seeds endozoochorously is largely unknown. we exposed seeds of ara ... | 2016 | 27547355 |
| evidence for selection maintaining mhc diversity in a rodent species despite strong density fluctuations. | strong spatiotemporal variation in population size often leads to reduced genetic diversity limiting the adaptive potential of individual populations. key genes of adaptive variation are encoded by the immune genes of the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) playing an essential role in parasite resistance. how mhc variation persists in rodent populations that regularly experience population bottlenecks remains an important topic in evolutionary genetics. we analysed the consequences of strong ... | 2016 | 27225422 |
| de novo lipogenesis is suppressed during fasting but upregulated at population decline in cyclic voles. | arvicolines are susceptible to the development of fatty liver during short-term fasting. we examined the potential role of de novo lipogenesis (dnl) (i) in the development of fasting-induced fatty liver and (ii) during a population cycle by measuring the mrna expression of acetyl-coa carboxylase-1 (acc1) and fatty acid synthase (fas). laboratory voles (microtus oeconomus and microtus arvalis) were fed or fasted for 12 or 18 h and their liver mrna levels were determined. both species showed decre ... | 2016 | 26892709 |
| dissecting geographic variation in population synchrony using the common vole in central europe as a test bed. | spatial synchrony of population fluctuations is ubiquitous in nature. theoretical models suggest that correlated environmental stochasticity, dispersal, and trophic interactions are important promoters of synchrony in nature to leave characteristic signatures of distance-dependent decays in synchrony. recent refinements of this theory have clarified how distance-decay curves may steepen if local dynamics are governed by different density-dependent feedbacks and how synchrony should vary regional ... | 2016 | 26811786 |
| [morphological peculiarities of the liver in common voles inhabiting the territory of borodino coal deposits and recultivation areas]. | the aim of this work was to study the morphological changes of liver in common voles (microtus arvalis pallas) inhabiting the territories of brown coal deposition in borodino coal opencast (krasnoyarsk region) and on reclaimed dumps 10 and 20 years after its production. trapping of the voles (10 animals in each group) living under natural conditions on each territory, was conducted for 30 days. histological examination of the liver in all animals demonstrated degenerative changes and necrosis of ... | 2015 | 26601468 |
| tracing reinforcement through asymmetrical partner preference in the european common vole microtus arvalis. | the mechanistic basis of speciation and in particular the contribution of behaviour to the completion of the speciation process is often contentious. contact zones between related taxa provide a situation where selection against hybridization might reinforce separation by behavioural mechanisms, which could ultimately fully isolate the taxa. one of the most abundant european mammals, the common vole microtus arvalis, forms multiple natural hybrid zones where rapidly diverging evolutionary lineag ... | 2015 | 26303785 |
| ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the trematode notocotylus noyeri (digenea: notocotylidae), a parasite of microtus arvalis (rodentia: cricetidae). | in the present paper, we describe the ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the notocotylid notocotylus noyeri (joyeux, 1922) by means of transmission electron microscopy. the mature spermatozoon of n. noyeri exhibits the general pattern described in the majority of digeneans: two axonemes of the 9 + "1" pattern of the trepaxonemata, nucleus, mitochondria, parallel cortical microtubules, spine-like bodies and ornamentation of the plasma membrane. the glycogenic nature of the electron-dense granu ... | 2015 | 25960545 |
| effects of short term bioturbation by common voles on biogeochemical soil variables. | bioturbation contributes to soil formation and ecosystem functioning. with respect to the active transport of matter by voles, bioturbation may be considered as a very dynamic process among those shaping soil formation and biogeochemistry. the present study aimed at characterizing and quantifying the effects of bioturbation by voles on soil water relations and carbon and nitrogen stocks. bioturbation effects were examined based on a field set up in a luvic arenosol comprising of eight 50 × 50 m ... | 2015 | 25954967 |
| continental-scale footprint of balancing and positive selection in a small rodent (microtus arvalis). | genetic adaptation to different environmental conditions is expected to lead to large differences between populations at selected loci, thus providing a signature of positive selection. whereas balancing selection can maintain polymorphisms over long evolutionary periods and even geographic scale, thus leads to low levels of divergence between populations at selected loci. however, little is known about the relative importance of these two selective forces in shaping genomic diversity, partly du ... | 2014 | 25383542 |
| sexual maturation in common vole (microtus arvalis) males raised under laboratory conditions. | the common vole is one ofthe most numerous rodents in europe and asia but its reproductive biology is not fully described. it is thought that females reach reproductive abilities at a very young age, however, there is no data concerning male sexual maturation. the aim of the present study was to determine the rate of sexual maturation of males of the common vole. research was carried out on 4, 6, 8 and 10 week-old animals. body, testes and accessory sex glands weights were compared to evaluate m ... | 2014 | 25134343 |
| chromosome synapsis and recombination in the hybrids between chromosome races of the common vole microtus aravalis: "arvalis" and "obscurus". | | 2014 | 24985517 |
| the changing pace of insular life: 5000 years of microevolution in the orkney vole (microtus arvalis orcadensis). | island evolution may be expected to involve fast initial morphological divergence followed by stasis. we tested this model using the dental phenotype of modern and ancient common voles (microtus arvalis), introduced onto the orkney archipelago (scotland) from continental europe some 5000 years ago. first, we investigated phenotypic divergence of orkney and continental european populations and assessed climatic influences. second, phenotypic differentiation among orkney populations was tested aga ... | 2014 | 24957579 |
| overcompensation and phase effects in a cyclic common vole population: between first and second-order cycles. | population cycles in voles are often thought to be generated by one-year delayed density dependence on the annual population growth rate. in common voles, however, it has been suggested by turchin (2003) that some populations exhibit first-order cycles, resulting from strong overcompensation (i.e. carrying capacity overshoots in peak years, with only an effect of the current year abundance on annual growth rates). we focus on a common vole (microtus arvalis) population from western france that e ... | 2014 | 24905436 |
| short-term variations in gene flow related to cyclic density fluctuations in the common vole. | in highly fluctuating populations with complex social systems, genetic patterns are likely to vary in space and time due to demographic and behavioural processes. cyclic rodents are extreme examples of demographically instable populations that often exhibit strong social organization. in such populations, kin structure and spacing behaviour may vary with density fluctuations and impact both the composition and spatial structure of genetic diversity. in this study, we analysed the multiannual gen ... | 2014 | 24888708 |
| the interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore. | cyclic rodent population dynamics are subjected to both intrinsic regulatory processes such as density-dependence and extrinsic environmental forcing. among extrinsic factors, seasonal environmental variation is understood to facilitate cycles. in rodents, these processes have been studied mostly independently and their relative importance for population dynamics is poorly known. | 2014 | 24886481 |
| the importance of predation risk and missed opportunity costs for context-dependent foraging patterns. | correct assessment of risks and costs of foraging is vital for the fitness of foragers. foragers should avoid predation risk and balance missed opportunities. in risk-heterogeneous landscapes animals prefer safer locations over riskier, constituting a landscape of fear. risk-uniform landscapes do not offer this choice, all locations are equally risky. here we investigate the effects of predation risk in patches, travelling risk between patches, and missed social opportunities on foraging decisio ... | 2014 | 24809666 |
| [monitoring populations of rodent reservoirs of zoonotic diseases. projects, aims and results]. | rodents can harbor and transmit pathogens that can cause severe disease in humans, companion animals and livestock. such zoonotic pathogens comprise more than two thirds of the currently known human pathogens. the epidemiology of some zoonotic pathogens, such as hantaviruses, can be linked to the population dynamics of the rodent host. in this case, during an outbreak of the rodent host population many human infections may occur. in other rodent-borne zoonotic diseases such phenomena are not kno ... | 2014 | 24781907 |
| short- and long-term effects of litter size manipulation in a small wild-derived rodent. | iteroparous organisms maximize their overall fitness by optimizing their reproductive effort over multiple reproductive events. hence, changes in reproductive effort are expected to have both short- and long-term consequences on parents and their offspring. in laboratory rodents, manipulation of reproductive efforts during lactation has however revealed few short-term reproductive adjustments, suggesting that female laboratory rodents express maximal rather than optimal levels of reproductive in ... | 2014 | 24671828 |
| temporal niche switching and reduced nest attendance in response to heat dissipation limits in lactating common voles (microtus arvalis). | according to the heat dissipation limit theory, maximum metabolic turnover is limited by the capacity of the body to dissipate excess heat. small mammals, including common voles (microtus arvalis), face a heat dissipation limitation during lactation. pup growth and milk production are reduced under higher ambient temperatures. heat dissipation problems might in part be alleviated by modifying behavior, such as reducing nest attendance and being active at energetically optimal times of day. accor ... | 2014 | 24518859 |
| structure and dynamics of hybrid zones at different stages of speciation in the common vole (microtus arvalis). | the genetic structure and dynamics of hybrid zones provide crucial information for understanding the processes and mechanisms of evolutionary divergence and speciation. in general, higher levels of evolutionary divergence between taxa are more likely to be associated with reproductive isolation and may result in suppressed or strongly restricted hybridization. in this study, we examined two secondary contact zones between three deep evolutionary lineages in the common vole (microtus arvalis). di ... | 2014 | 24450982 |
| ignoring heterozygous sites biases phylogenomic estimates of divergence times: implications for the evolutionary history of microtus voles. | phylogenetic reconstruction of the evolutionary history of closely related organisms may be difficult because of the presence of unsorted lineages and of a relatively high proportion of heterozygous sites that are usually not handled well by phylogenetic programs. genomic data may provide enough fixed polymorphisms to resolve phylogenetic trees, but the diploid nature of sequence data remains analytically challenging. here, we performed a phylogenomic reconstruction of the evolutionary history o ... | 2014 | 24371090 |
| consistency in boldness, activity and exploration at different stages of life. | animals show consistent individual behavioural patterns over time and over situations. this phenomenon has been referred to as animal personality or behavioural syndromes. little is known about consistency of animal personalities over entire life times. we investigated the repeatability of behaviour in common voles (microtus arvalis) at different life stages, with different time intervals, and in different situations. animals were tested using four behavioural tests in three experimental groups: ... | 2013 | 24314274 |
| common vole (microtus arvalis) ecology and management: implications for risk assessment of plant protection products. | common voles (microtus arvalis) are common small mammals in some european landscapes. they can be a major rodent pest in european agriculture and they are also a representative generic focal small herbivorous mammal species used in risk assessment for plant protection products. in this paper, common vole population dynamics, habitat and food preferences, pest potential and use of the common vole as a model small wild mammal species in the risk assessment process are reviewed. common voles are a ... | 2014 | 24293354 |
| seasonal variation in the behaviour of a short-lived rodent. | short lived, iteroparous animals in seasonal environments experience variable social and environmental conditions over their lifetime. animals can be divided into those with a "young-of-the-year" life history (yy, reproducing and dying in the summer of birth) and an "overwinter" life history (ow, overwintering in a subadult state before reproducing next spring).we investigated how behavioural patterns across the population were affected by season and sex, and whether variation in behaviour refle ... | 2013 | 24238069 |
| divergent evolutionary processes associated with colonization of offshore islands. | oceanic islands have been a test ground for evolutionary theory, but here, we focus on the possibilities for evolutionary study created by offshore islands. these can be colonized through various means and by a wide range of species, including those with low dispersal capabilities. we use morphology, modern and ancient sequences of cytochrome b (cytb) and microsatellite genotypes to examine colonization history and evolutionary change associated with occupation of the orkney archipelago by the c ... | 2013 | 23998800 |
| [species composition, abundance, and annual cycles of fleas (siphonaptera) on bank voles (clethrionomys glareolus) in the western part of vologda province (babaevo district)]. | a total of 383 fleas of 11 species were collected from 428 bank voles (clethrionomys glareolus) near babaevo vill. (59 degrees 4', n, 35 degrees 8' e). three species (amphipsylla rossica, doratopsylla dasycnema, palaeopsylla soricis) are not typical for these rodent hosts, moving onto the latter occasionally from other animals, such as the common vole microtus arvalis and shrews inhabiting adjacent or similar biotopes. peromyscopsylla bidentata, infesting the bank vole in the most part of its ra ... | 2014 | 25464742 |
| [molecular cytogenetic markers of cryptic species and hybrids of the common vole superspecies complex microtus arvalis s. l]. | molecular markers of cryptic cytogenetical differentiation were shown in chromosomal polymorphic pan-european model group of rodents microtus arvalis s. l. by fish analysis. the polytypy of 46-chromosomes karyotypes determined by the sites of interstitial telomeric sequences (its) and ribosomal dna emphasizes the genetical isolation of m. arvalis s. s. and m. obscurus. | 2013 | 23875463 |
| analysis of anticoagulant rodenticide residues in microtus arvalis tissues by liquid chromatography with diode array, fluorescence and mass spectrometry detection. | we describe here a fast and selective analytical method to determine the levels of four anticoagulant rodenticides (chlorophacinone, bromadiolone, brodifacoum and difenacoum) in animal tissues by liquid chromatography (lc) using different detection methods: fluorescence (fld), diode array (dad) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (esi-ms). rodenticides were extracted from freeze-dried and homogenized tissue samples (liver, intestine and muscle) that had been obtained from the common vo ... | 2013 | 23523881 |
| morphological and chromosomal variation in the common vole microtus arvalis pall. at the northern boundary of its distribution area. | | 2013 | 23479010 |
| sex-specific clines support incipient speciation in a common european mammal. | hybrid zones provide excellent opportunities to study processes and mechanisms underlying reproductive isolation and speciation. here we investigated sex-specific clines of molecular markers in hybrid zones of morphologically cryptic yet genetically highly-diverged evolutionary lineages of the european common vole (microtus arvalis). we analyzed the position and width of four secondary contact zones along three independent transects in the region of the alps using maternally (mitochondrial dna) ... | 2013 | 23340600 |
| efficacy of methyl nonyl ketone as an in-soil repellent for common voles (microtus arvalis). | common voles (microtus arvalis) can cause enormous damage in agriculture. tests were conducted using an alternative approach to rodenticide-based vole management by developing an in-soil odour repellent based on the secondary plant metabolite methyl nonyl ketone (mnk). replicated 25 m(2) plots were established in forage grassland to test efficacy and application schemes using a foam application that included mnk. | 2013 | 23292923 |
| from home range dynamics to population cycles: validation and realism of a common vole population model for pesticide risk assessment. | despite various attempts to establish population models as standard tools in pesticide risk assessment, population models still receive limited acceptance by risk assessors and authorities in europe. a main criticism of risk assessors is that population models are often not, or not sufficiently, validated. hence the realism of population-level risk assessments conducted with such models remains uncertain. we therefore developed an individual-based population model for the common vole, microtus a ... | 2013 | 23086922 |
| strong pituitary and hypothalamic responses to photoperiod but not to 6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone in female common voles (microtus arvalis). | the annual cycle of changing day length (photoperiod) is widely used by animals to synchronise their biology to environmental seasonality. in mammals, melatonin is the key hormonal relay for the photoperiodic message, governing thyroid-stimulating hormone (tsh) production in the pars tuberalis (pt) of the pituitary stalk. tsh acts on neighbouring hypothalamic cells known as tanycytes, which in turn control hypothalamic function through effects on thyroid hormone (th) signalling, mediated by chan ... | 2012 | 22982975 |
| to breed, or not to breed? predation risk induces breeding suppression in common voles. | breeding suppression hypothesis (bsh) predicts that, in several vole species, females will suppress breeding in response to high risk of mustelid predation; compared to breeding females, suppressing females would gain higher chances of survival. seminal evidence for bsh was obtained in the laboratory, but attempts to replicate breeding suppression under field conditions were less conclusive. we tested whether breeding suppression occurs in common voles (microtus arvalis), and how population dens ... | 2012 | 22700062 |
| urine marking in male common voles: does behavioural activity matter? | rodent urine provides animals with a large amount of information, from the identity of the animal through its physical condition to social status. many studies therefore focus on rodent urine-marking behaviour and use marking frequency as an indicator of social status or competitive ability. however, marking, like many other aspects of rodent behaviour, may be affected by individual behavioural activity, a factor that has not been examined so far. we therefore studied a relationship between male ... | 2012 | 22285890 |
| [meiosis in gray voles of the subgenus microtus (rodentia, arvicolinae) and in their hybrids]. | the results of light and electron microscopic (em) studies of meiosis in microtus arvalis males of the karyoform "arvalis" (2n = 46, nfa = 80), in hybrids between the chromosomal forms arvalis and obscurus (2n = 46, nfa = 68), in m. rossiaemeridionalis voles (2n = 54, nfa = 54), and in a hybrid between the species m. rossiaemeridionalis and m. kermanensis (2n = 54, nfa = 54) are presented. sc (synaptonemal complex) karyotypes of the parental forms and the hybrids were constructed on the basis of ... | 2011 | 21938960 |
| behavioral responses to combinations of timed light, food availability, and ultradian rhythms in the common vole (microtus arvalis). | light is the main entraining signal of the central circadian clock, which drives circadian organization of activity. when food is made available during only certain parts of the day, it can entrain the clock in the liver without changing the phase of the central circadian clock. although a hallmark of food entrainment is a behavioral anticipation of food availability, the extent of behavioral alterations in response to food availability has not been fully characterized. the authors have investig ... | 2011 | 21790327 |
| enhanced aflp genome scans detect local adaptation in high-altitude populations of a small rodent (microtus arvalis). | adaptation to adverse environmental conditions such as high altitude requires physiological and/or morphological changes. genome scans provide a means to identify the genetic basis of such adaptations without previous knowledge about the particular genetic variants or traits under selection. in this study, we scanned 3027 amplified fragment length polymorphisms (aflp) in four populations of the common vole microtus arvalis for loci associated with local adaptation and high altitude. we investiga ... | 2011 | 21352386 |
| presence of the 54-chromosome common vole (mammalia) on olkhon island (lake baikal, east siberia, russia), and the occurrence of an unusual x-chromosome variant. | we report a new finding of the 54-chromosome sibling species of the common vole in east siberia - the first description from olkhon island (lake baikal). the karyotype of a male specimen revealed by routine staining and c-banding demonstrates the unambiguous presence of microtus rossiaemeridionalis ognev, 1924 (recently often regarded as as junior synonym of microtus levis miller, 1908). comparison with conspecific specimens from the european part of the species range (from the left bank of the ... | 2011 | 24260647 |
| estimating population structure from aflp amplification intensity. | in the last decade, amplified fragment length polymorphisms (aflps) have become one of the most widely used molecular markers to study the genetic structure of natural populations. most of the statistical methods available to study the genetic structure of populations using aflps consider these markers as dominant and are thus unable to distinguish between individuals being heterozygous or homozygous for the dominant allele. some attempts have been made to treat aflps as codominant markers by us ... | 2010 | 20874760 |
| seasonal variation of reproductive success under female philopatry and male-biased dispersal in a common vole population. | variation of reproductive success, an important determinant of the opportunity for sexual selection, is an outcome of competition within one sex for mating with members of the other sex. in promiscuous species, males typically compete for access to females, and their reproductive strategies are strongly related to the spatial distribution of females. i used 10 microsatellite loci and the mtdna control region to determine seasonal differences in the reproductive success of males and females of th ... | 2011 | 20850510 |
| does spatial learning ability of common voles (microtus arvalis) and bank voles (myodes glareolus) constrain foraging efficiency? | place learning abilities represent adaptations that contribute also to foraging efficiency under given spatio-temporal conditions. we investigated if this ability in turn constrains decision making in two sympatric vole species: while the herbivorous common vole (microtus arvalis) feeds on spatio-temporally predictable food resources (e.g. roots, tubers and shoots of plant tubers), the omnivorous bank vole (myodes glareolus) additionally subsists on temporally unpredictable food resources (e.g. ... | 2010 | 20596739 |
| [genomic versus chromosomal polytypy in studies of mitochondrial and nuclear dna markers in the microtus arvalis group]. | common voles of the microtus arvalis group distributed over the territory of european russia are represented by three karyotypic categories, i.e., sympatric sibling species with 2n = 46 and 54, and two allopatric karyoforms in one of them, 2n = 46. for each category, molecular markers were found. for two 46-chromosome forms (arvalis and obscurus), dna was for the first time studied in karyotypes and non-karyotyped specimens for a parapatric hybrid zone, where high diversity of intermediate karyo ... | 2010 | 20583603 |
| concentrations of selected heavy metals in bones and femoral bone structure of bank (myodes glareolus) and common (microtus arvalis) voles from different polluted biotopes in slovakia. | concentrations of selected heavy metals in the femora and femoral bone structure of bank (myodes glareolus) and common (microtus arvalis) voles from different polluted biotopes in slovakia (kolíňany and nováky sites) were investigated. length, weight, and histological structure of vole bones were also analyzed. we observed higher concentrations of lead (pb), iron (fe), copper (cu), and zinc (zn) in the bones of both species from the kolíňany site. significant differences were observed in the con ... | 2011 | 20532880 |
| difference between random and imprinted x inactivation in common voles. | during early development in female mammals, most genes on one of the two x-chromosomes undergo transcriptional silencing. in the extraembryonic lineages of some eutherian species, imprinted x-inactivation of the paternal x-chromosome occurs. in the cells of the embryo proper, the choice of the future inactive x-chromosome is random. we mapped several genes on the x-chromosomes of five common vole species and compared their expression and methylation patterns in somatic and extraembryonic tissues ... | 2010 | 20473512 |
| determinants of the prevalence of heligmosomum costellatum (heligmosomidae: trichostrongyloidea) in a common vole population in southern moravia, czech republic. | a study of nematode (heligmosomum costellatum) prevalence in the common vole (microtus arvalis) population was performed in 2002 and 2003 in an agricultural region of southern moravia, czech republic. the influence of the trapping date, body weight, age, gender and reproduction of the common vole on the prevalence of the larvae of h. costellatum encapsulated in the stomach wall was examined. of 503 common voles examined, 27.6% were h. costellatum positive. the prevalence of h. costellatum in the ... | 2010 | 20233485 |
| abctoolbox: a versatile toolkit for approximate bayesian computations. | the estimation of demographic parameters from genetic data often requires the computation of likelihoods. however, the likelihood function is computationally intractable for many realistic evolutionary models, and the use of bayesian inference has therefore been limited to very simple models. the situation changed recently with the advent of approximate bayesian computation (abc) algorithms allowing one to obtain parameter posterior distributions based on simulations not requiring likelihood com ... | 2010 | 20202215 |
| efficacy and attractiveness of zinc phosphide bait in common voles (microtus arvalis). | minimising the concentration of active ingredient in rodenticide bait is desirable economically and for the protection of the agroecosystem. this study aimed to identify a zinc phosphide concentration that balances palatability and efficacy for common vole (microtus arvalis pall.) management and to compare the attractiveness of two bait carriers. | 2010 | 19798699 |