Causes and consequences of natal dispersal in root voles,Microtus oeconomus

Gundersen, Gry; Andreassen, Harry P.

doi:10.1006/anbe.1998.0911

Cited by 55 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In female-defence polygynous species, like the root voles (Microtus oeconomus) of this study (Tast 1966;Ims et al 1993), females compete for space and food resources, whereas males compete for mating partners (Ostfeld 1985a;Ims 1987). Males are usually more territorial and defend larger areas than females, and females have a high degree of home range overlap within matrilineal clusters Gundersen and Andreassen 1998). Thus, the social system of root voles (and other similar Microtus species) is characterised by marked territoriality in males and extensive space sharing in females, which is in sharp contrast with the social system of bank voles (and other similar Myodes species) where females defend exclusive territories and commit infanticide against each other (Ostfeld 1985a;Ims 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

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Territory ownership and familiarity status affect how much male root voles (Microtus oeconomus) invest in territory defence

Rosell

Gundersen

Galliard

2008

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Neighbour-stranger discrimination occurs when individuals respond with more aggression to strangers than to territorial neighbours -a phenomenon termed the "dear enemy phenomenon" (DEP). We investigated the DEP with male and female root voles (Microtus oeconomus Pallas 1776) using field dyadic arena tests conducted in enclosures where we could test for the effects of familiarity (familiar versus stranger), ownership (resident versus intruder status) and resource-holding potential (body mass) on territorial behaviours. The results showed that males put more effort into territorial defence than females, and males could discriminate between neighbours and strangers. In males, aggressiveness was influenced by a significant two-way interaction between treatment and ownership. Male residents were more aggressive towards stranger intruders than towards neighbour intruders, while male intruders were less aggressive towards stranger residents than towards neighbour residents. In females, neither treatment nor ownership status had a significant effect on aggressiveness. Familiar males performed more social behaviours, but less non-social behaviours, than stranger males. Furthermore, there was a clear dominance hierarchy between residents and intruders in stranger dyads, with the male territory holders dominating the intruder in pairwise interactions. To our knowledge, these results demonstrate for the first time DEP in a small mammal with a known pedigree and present the first evidence for "prior resident advantage" in voles. We argue that both ownership status and familiarity status affect how much an individual invests in territory defence. The benefits of neighbour-stranger discrimination for male root voles and the absence of neighbour-stranger discrimination in female root voles are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Populations were seeded with 4-8 females and 2-4 males (ca. 90-100 voles per ha) marked individually by toe-clipping (Gundersen and Andreassen 1998). Animals were marked in the laboratory by clipping sharply the tip of one or two toes using fine scissors disinfected with alcohol.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Territory ownership and familiarity status affect how much male root voles (Microtus oeconomus) invest in territory defence

Rosell

Gundersen

Galliard

2008

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…The other two categorical variables were mother's presence or absence, and, if the mother was present, her reproductive status (Appendix A). The mother may treat her daughter as a potential competitor, especially if the mother is reproductive (Wiggett and Boag 1992a, Gundersen and Andreassen 1998, Ronce 2007. However, in a matrilineal species, the presence of the mother may have the opposite effect and promote philopatry (Armitage 1984).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximate causes of natal dispersal in female yellow-bellied marmots, Marmota flaviventris

Armitage

Vuren

Özgül

et al. 2011

Ecology

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Abstract. We investigated factors influencing natal dispersal in 231 female yearling yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) using comprehensive analysis of 10 years (1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993) of radiotelemetry and 37 years of capture-mark-recapture data. Only individuals whose dispersal status was verified, primarily by radiotelemetry, were considered. Univariate analyses revealed that six of the 24 variables we studied significantly influenced dispersal: dispersal was less likely when the mother was present, amicable behavior with the mother and play behavior were more frequent, and spatial overlap was greater with the mother, with matriline females, and with other yearling females. Using both univariate and multivariate analyses, we tested several hypotheses proposed as proximate causes of dispersal. We rejected inbreeding avoidance, population density, body size, social intolerance, and kin competition as factors influencing dispersal. Instead, our results indicate that kin cooperation, expressed via cohesive behaviors and with a focus on the mother, influenced dispersal by promoting philopatry. Kin cooperation may be an underappreciated factor influencing dispersal in both social and nonsocial species.

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“…The study of the proximate causes of dispersal, in particular, the social environment in which animals are observed to disperse could be indicative of the ultimate cause of dispersal. A dispersal strategy sensitive to the presence of opposite-sex kin would be suggestive of inbreeding avoidance (Lambin, 1994;Gundersen & Andreassen, 1998). When driven by kin competition, both sexes may disperse, and the dispersal rate may be sensitive to the numbers of all kin, or promoted by the numbers of the more competitive sex (e.g.…”

Section: Ultimate Causes Of Dispersalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and consequences of animal dispersal strategies: relating individual behaviour to spatial dynamics

2005

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Knowledge of the ecological and evolutionary causes of dispersal can be crucial in understanding the behaviour of spatially structured populations, and predicting how species respond to environmental change. Despite the focus of much theoretical research, simplistic assumptions regarding the dispersal process are still made. Dispersal is usually regarded as an unconditional process although in many cases fitness gains of dispersal are dependent on environmental factors and individual state. Condition-dependent dispersal strategies will often be superior to unconditional, fixed strategies. In addition, dispersal is often collapsed into a single parameter, despite it being a process composed of three interdependent stages : emigration, inter-patch movement and immigration, each of which may display different condition dependencies. Empirical studies have investigated correlates of these stages, emigration in particular, providing evidence for the prevalence of conditional dispersal strategies. Ill-defined use of the term ' dispersal', for movement across many different spatial scales, further hinders making general conclusions and relating movement correlates to consequences at the population level. Logistical difficulties preclude a detailed study of dispersal for many species, however incorporating unrealistic dispersal assumptions in spatial population models may yield inaccurate and costly predictions. Further studies are necessary to explore the importance of incorporating specific condition-dependent dispersal strategies for evolutionary and population dynamic predictions.

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Causes and consequences of natal dispersal in root voles,Microtus oeconomus

Cited by 55 publications

References 53 publications

Territory ownership and familiarity status affect how much male root voles (Microtus oeconomus) invest in territory defence

Territory ownership and familiarity status affect how much male root voles (Microtus oeconomus) invest in territory defence

Proximate causes of natal dispersal in female yellow-bellied marmots, Marmota flaviventris

Causes and consequences of animal dispersal strategies: relating individual behaviour to spatial dynamics

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