FERTILITY AMONG RACES OF THE FIELD MOUSE (<i>APODEMUS SYLVATICUS</i>) AND THEIR FAILURE TO FORM HYBRIDS WITH THE YELLOW-NECKED MOUSE (<i>APODEMUS FLAVICOLLIS</i>)

Jewell, P. A.; Fullagar, Peter

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1965.tb01705.x

Cited by 12 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Although A. sylvaticus and A. flavicollis are closely related (Bugarski-Stanojević et al, 2008), they do not appear to be sister species (Makova, Nekrutenko & Baker, 2000;Michaux et al, 2002;Janzekovic & Krystufek, 2004). In addition, there is no evidence from either morphometric, molecular or experimental data that these species hybridize (Engländer & Amtmann, 1963;Jewell & Fullagar, 1965;Niethammer, 1969;Serizawa, Suzuki & Tsuchiya, 2000;Michaux et al, 2001;Filippucci, Macholán & Michaux, 2002). In temperate Europe, the genus Apodemus is the dominant rodent present in most woodland and shrub habitats, even near their distribution limits (Kryštufek & Vohralík, 2007;Loman, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can functional traits help explain the coexistence of two species of Apodemus?

Kerr¹,

Cornette²,

Rodrigues³

et al. 2017

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Sustainable coexistence of similar, related species is generally expected to be achieved through character displacement, resulting in niche partitioning. The species Apodemus sylvaticus and Apodemus flavicollis are very similar both morphologically and ecologically, and have a large geographical overlap. Whether functional or biomechanical differences between these two species contribute to their coexistence remains unknown. A biomechanical model was created based on muscle data derived from dissections to estimate the maximum bite force. In addition, the dental microwear was analysed to test for evidence of a divergence in diet. Finally, geometric morphometric approaches were used to compare mandibular shapes. The results indicate that A. flavicollis, the slightly larger species, is optimized for biting at a larger gape angle. Apodemus sylvaticus appears to be slightly more specialized for grinding and biting at a narrower gape angle. However, the majority of shape variation in the mandible across both species follows the same pattern. No significant differences in microwear were observed between species, and thus, they appear to consume similar food types. These results suggest that character divergence resulting in niche partitioning has not occurred, possibly due to low resource competition. Alternatively, resource partitioning may occur through behavioural differences or differences in activity patterns.

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