Edible dormouse (Glis glis) population study in south‐western Poland provides evidence of multiple paternity and communal nesting

Abstract

The mating system of small populations, isolated as a result of habitat fragmentation, is a key factor in their survival. As such populations are at risk of losing their genetic variation, reduction of their evolutionary potential is a distinct possibility. A flexible mating system may therefore provide a means of maintaining genetic variation. The mating system of the edible dormouse (Glis glis), a small arboreal rodent endangered by the fragmentation of its habitats, is not well understood. To date, only one study has provided evidence of multiple paternity in dormice. We present the results of a four‐year study of eight isolated dormouse populations. Using 138 individuals and 10 polymorphic autosomal microsatellite loci, we examined the prevalence of multiple paternity in these populations. In addition, we investigated the frequency of communal nesting and the genetic relationships between the females and juveniles occupying a single nest box. We found a high prevalence of multiple paternity (70% of the litters were multiple‐sired), a weak genetic relationship between the juveniles and the accompanying females (in 81% of cases the female residing with juveniles in a nest box was not their biological mother) and a 10.5% frequency of communal nesting in all nests. Given the low genetic variability of dormice, the multiple paternity and promiscuity observed in this species can help to maintain its genetic diversity.

Is promiscuity the key? Multiple paternity in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

“…A promiscuous mating system would not be surprising in garden dormice, as it has been found in other dormouse species like in edible (Weber et al 2018;Moska et al 2021) and hazel dormice (Naim et al 2011), and is generally common in other rodent species, like wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus, Bartmann and Gerlach 2001), yellow necked mice (A. flavicollis), Ural field mice (A. uralensis), striped field mice (A. agrarius, Bryja et al 2008), Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii, Huo et al 2010), and North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Lane et al 2008). Compared to the edible dormouse with rates of multiple paternity between 70 and 100% (Weber et al 2018;Moska et al 2021) and the hazel dormouse with 94 and 100% multiple paternity (Naim et al 2011), garden dormice of this study showed a lower rate of multiple paternity (64%). However, we assume that the proportion of multiple paternity in this garden dormouse population is underestimated, because we analysed only paternities of litters with at least three juveniles and we further detected multiple paternity only indirectly by counting alleles and not by identifying individual males as genetic fathers (Burton 2002), and we assumed that both parents were heterozygous if they were unknown.…”

“…Previous studies of their ranging behavior also suggested that males use large home ranges overlapping with those of several females in order to gain access to them when they are in estrus (Vaterlaus 1998;Bertolino et al 2003;Wolff 2007). A promiscuous mating system would not be surprising in garden dormice, as it has been found in other dormouse species like in edible (Weber et al 2018;Moska et al 2021) and hazel dormice (Naim et al 2011), and is generally common in other rodent species, like wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus, Bartmann and Gerlach 2001), yellow necked mice (A. flavicollis), Ural field mice (A. uralensis), striped field mice (A. agrarius, Bryja et al 2008), Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii, Huo et al 2010), and North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Lane et al 2008). Compared to the edible dormouse with rates of multiple paternity between 70 and 100% (Weber et al 2018;Moska et al 2021) and the hazel dormouse with 94 and 100% multiple paternity (Naim et al 2011), garden dormice of this study showed a lower rate of multiple paternity (64%).…”

The influence of landscape features on the population connectivity and genetic structure of the Edible Dormouse Glis glis in Poland

“…An interesting conclusion to be drawn from these analyses is that the low genetic diversity of dormice cannot be said to be accompanied by elevated inbreeding coefficients. The relatively low values of F IS in dormice from these populations may have resulted from a multiple mating system (polyandry) in G. glis (Weber et al 2018; Moska et al 2021), which may be a protective mechanism against inbreeding.…”

Адаптации Вида К Обитанию На Периферии Ареала: Обзор Особенностей Биологии Полчка (Glis Glis Linnaeus, 1766) В Самой Восточной Популяции

“…Рядом авторов отмечено для полчка явление совместного выведения потомства самками, в котором могут участвовать до трех самок [16,44,45]. В Италии встречаемость гнезд с несколькими выводками охватывала от 5 до 50% размножающихся самок, обычно это были пары мать-дочь или сестра-сестра [49].…”

“…Постгляциальная реколонизация большей части Евразии из единственного Средиземноморского рефугиума, расположенного в Иберийском регионе, привела к слабому уровню генетического разнообразия. Исследования методами популяционной генетики начаты лишь в нескольких точках ареала [26,45]. В то же время с учетом градации климатических условий на протяжении ареала по крайней мере фенологические характеристики жизненного цикла особей должны значительно варьировать.…”