Reproduction in female gundis(Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae)

George, Wilma

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1978.tb03313.x

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Like many other petrophilic rodents, gundis are K‐selected (Nutt 2007b); they have small litters of one to three young (George 1978) and in captivity can live up to 6 years (S. Honigs, Zoo Landau in der Pfalz, Germany, personal communication). In 2000, the first year of drought, juveniles were caught in several groups indicating that reproduction had occurred.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of techniques for assessing dispersal behaviour in gundis: revealing dispersal patterns in the absence of observed dispersal behaviour

Nutt

2008

Molecular Ecology

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Knowledge of the dispersal status of group members is important to understanding how sociality may have evolved within a species. I assessed the effectiveness of four techniques for elucidating dispersal behaviour in a rock-dwelling rodent (Ctenodactylus gundi) with small group sizes (2-10 animals): genetic parentage assignment, haplotype data and kinship analyses, assignment testing, and F-statistics. The first two methods provided the greatest insight into gundi dispersal behaviour. Assignment testing and F-statistics proved of limited use for elucidating fine-scale dispersal, but could detect large-scale patterns despite low sex-biased dispersal intensity (1.9 : 1) because of moderate genetic differentiation among groups (F ST = 0.10). Findings are discussed in light of current dispersal theory. In general, gundi dispersal is plastic, and seems to be dependent on body weight (for males), group composition, and scale of analysis (total dispersal events recorded within the population were almost twice the immigration rate into the population). Most groups were comprised of a single matriline and one immigrant male. Immigrant rather than philopatric males bred with group females. Dispersal among groups was male-biased, but dispersal or philopatry could occur by either sex. During a drought, both sexes delayed dispersal and cooperative social units formed. Whether such behaviour resulted directly from the drought or not remains unclear, however, since comparative information was not available from nondrought years. Combining fine-scale analyses with information on large-scale patterns provided substantial insight into gundi dispersal behaviour despite the limited movement of animals during a drought, and may prove useful for elucidating dispersal behaviour in other social animals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of techniques for assessing dispersal behaviour in gundis: revealing dispersal patterns in the absence of observed dispersal behaviour

Nutt

2008

Molecular Ecology

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“…No subsequent record has been provided for Mauritania (Padial and Ibá ñ ez 2005). George (1974) provided information about the ecology of the Felou gundi in Mali, but, to date, few studies specifically address any other aspect of the biology or distribution of this species (e.g., George 1978). The Felou gundi was cataloged as data deficient by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), who urged to provide data on population numbers and range, biology and ecology, and monitoring population trends (Aulagnier 2004).…”

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confidence: 99%