Effects of Resource Partitioning on the Population Dynamics and Energy Utilization Strategies of Feral House Mice (Mus Musculus) Populations Under Experimental Field Conditions

Stueck, Karen L.; Barrett, Gary W.

doi:10.2307/1936584

Cited by 38 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…We assumed that competitively dominant animals would defend areas around permanent supplies of food (Stueck and Barrett 1978;Ires 1987). Cracked corn and sunflower seeds were provided, every 10 days, under the cover of 1 × 1-m wooden boards supported by bricks.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of intrauterine position on the survival, reproduction and home range size of female house mice (Mus musculus)

Zielinski

Saal

Vandenbergh

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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In laboratory studies using albino house mice, a female's prior intrauterine position can affect many postnatal physiological, morphological and behavioral characteristics. Females flanked by males in utero (2M females) exhibit more aggressive dominance than females flanked by females (0 M females). Thus, wild 2 M females may be most successful during peak population densities when their aggressive nature would allow them to displace other females from limited resources. 2M and 0 M females and males delivered by cesarean section were individually marked and released as young adults on two occasions onto a "highway island" (the area enclosed by exit and entrance ramps at an interchange) to determine whether 2M females have a competitive advantage over 0 M females in the field. Males were included to create realistic population structure; their intrauterine position was not a treatment. Feeding stations afforded individuals an opportunity to exhibit their dominance by maintaining home-ranges at or near the stations. The populations were monitored by periodic live-trapping and reproductive success was determined using field body weights and by post-mortem examination for uterine implantation scars. Survival and capture rates were estimated, using a modified Jolly-Seber markrecapture program, for each of four intervals between trapping occasions over the course of 7 weeks. There were no overall differences in survivorship between 2 M and 0 M females, neither type of female was caught more frequently at feeding stations and they did not differ in measures of reproductive success. However, 2M females had significantly larger home-range sizes than 0 M females and thus space use may be a trait "masculinized" by prior intrauterine position. Although there are a number of life-history characteristics that differ between 0M and 2M females in the laboratory that we did not test specifically in the field, our findings and other features of wild house mouse biology suggest that prior intrauterine position does not have a strong effect on survival and reproduction in the wild.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of intrauterine position on the survival, reproduction and home range size of female house mice (Mus musculus)

Zielinski

Saal

Vandenbergh

1992

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…A range of studies has shown the interactions and trade‐offs between different functional components, particularly energy input (incorporating food availability and the ability to acquire it) and reproductive activity (e.g. Stueck & Barrett, 1978; Bronson, 1984a; Berry & Bronson, 1992). Theory and ecological results indicate that the most acute physiological problem for a small mammal is cold – or, more specifically, episodes of cold (McNab, 2002).…”

Section: Adaptation and Opportunismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The house mouse: a model and motor for evolutionary understanding

Berry

Scriven

2005

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Commensal house mice have spread from their probable origin in north India, differentiating into a number of forms described variously as species, semispecies or subspecies. The different taxa can breed together and exchange genes but they retain their distinctiveness (although Mus ( musculus ) molossinus of Japan seems to be the result of a complete fusion between M. ( m .) musculus and M. ( m .) castaneus ). The most widespread form is M. ( m. ) domesticus , which has successfully colonized every continent as a commensal, albeit with varying contributions from other Mus genomes. It has also been domesticated as the laboratory mouse. This means that the same genome is exposed to a wide variety of environments and gives tremendous opportunities for exploring the operation of different evolutionary mechanisms. Mice have accompanied evolutionary understanding from early Darwinian days -confirming Mendelian ratios and showing they applied in mammals, providing data on rates of evolution, and representing examples of dominance modification, differential survival, competition and other indicators of a struggle for existence. However, they have an unfulfilled potential to drive as well as to illuminate evolutionary theory -by revealing more about, for example, the interactions between gene flow and social determinants, constraints on introgression and physiological adjustments. This potential can be explored through our ever-deepening knowledge of the genome and molecular mechanisms, and by the application of new techniques, but its most effective agent will always be the cross-disciplinary synergy of visionary scientists like Julian Huxley, Charles Elton and Louis Thaler.

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“…We assumed that competitively dominant males would defend areas around permanent supplies of food (Stueck & Barrett 1978;Ims 1987). Cracked corn and sunflower seeds were provided every 10 days under the cover of 1 x 1 m wooden boards supported by bricks.…”

Section: Field Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testosterone and competitive ability in male house mice, Mus musculus: laboratory and field studies

Zielinski

Vandenbergh

1993

Animal Behaviour

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Abstract. Testosterone enhances aggression and can facilitate dominance in mammals, but most studies have been conducted on laboratory strains of mice and in simple environments. Unlike previous studies, laboratory and field tests were conducted using wild house mice, Mus musculus, to determine whether males with high, but physiological, testosterone levels (High T) would achieve dominance compared with males with low testosterone levels (Low T). All males were castrated and androgen was replaced with a single injection of testosterone enanthate, a long-acting androgen. At 8 days post-treatment the mean testosterone concentration in High T males was 5 . 1 ng/ml, whereas the level in Low T males was 1 . 3 ng/ml. Contests in the laboratory revealed that High T males achieved dominance over Low T males in the presence of females. In the field, equal numbers of High and Low T males, and a corresponding number of females, were released on three highway islands at densities equivalent to the highest density reported on similar sites. Periodic retrapping produced a capture history for males in each group and differences in survival were analysed using the program SURVIV. High T males had a higher probability of survival than Low T males on one island, but on the other two islands the higher capture rates of High T males were not statistically greater than those for Low T males. Of those that survived to the first trapping episode, the High T males had greater subsequent longevity than Low T males. On all three islands High T males were caught more frequently at feeding stations that were established to enhance food competition. There were no differences among the home range sizes of High T males, Low T males and females. However, on two of the islands the ranges of High T males overlapped more of the ranges of resident females than those of Low T males. The findings from this study, using testosterone-treated subjects, suggest that natural variation in basal testosterone also may affect competitive ability in wild house mice.

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Effects of Resource Partitioning on the Population Dynamics and Energy Utilization Strategies of Feral House Mice (Mus Musculus) Populations Under Experimental Field Conditions

Cited by 38 publications

References 37 publications

The effect of intrauterine position on the survival, reproduction and home range size of female house mice (Mus musculus)

The effect of intrauterine position on the survival, reproduction and home range size of female house mice (Mus musculus)

The house mouse: a model and motor for evolutionary understanding

Testosterone and competitive ability in male house mice, Mus musculus: laboratory and field studies

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