Seasonal reproduction by small mammals of the Namib desert

Withers, Philip C.

doi:10.1515/mamm.1983.47.2.195

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This corresponds to what has been observed in many semi-arid or desert countries for gerbils and other small rodents (Happold 1966, Prakash 1971, Amirat et al 1977, Withers 1983, Sicard and Fuminier 1994, Tripathi 2005, Krug 2007, Soliman and Mohallal 2009, Shenbrot et al 2010 ). In G. cheesmani , the reproduction of most individuals coincided with the local rainfall during the study period, but not with the average pluviosity of the country.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Thus, in a desert environment where rains are often irregular, individuals responded quickly to the local conditions. This applies to both sexes because males were synchronous with females, while in other desert species, males usually become reproductive 1 -2 months before females (Amirat et al 1977, Withers 1983, Sicard and Fuminier 1994, Soliman and Mohallal 2009.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Breeding periods of Gerbillus cheesmani (Rodentia, Muridae) in Saudi Arabia

Henry

Dubost

2012

Mammalia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In deserts, rainfall is rare and often irregular, and this directly conditions the growth, flowering and fruiting of plants. Consequently, food can become seasonally scarce for plant-eating vertebrates. The relationship between the reproduction of rodents, rainfall, and plant production has been partly studied in some Asian and African desert regions, but not in Saudi Arabia. We therefore sought to define the breeding periods of the most common rodent in that country, Gerbillus cheesmani . More than 540 specimens were collected during 16 consecutive months between November 2001 and February 2003. As expected, the reproduction of mature males and females showed significant monthly variation directly correlated to rainfall. Most young were captured 2 months after the peak in pregnancy. The reproduction of this species was clearly seasonal in Saudi Arabia, unlike other desert regions where many rodents reproduce more or less throughout the year. Furthermore, both sexes reproduced synchronously, whereas in most other countries, males become reproductive 1 -2 months before females. Lastly, reproduction coincided with the rainfall during the study period, but not with the average pluviosity of the country. This indicates that all the individuals responded quickly to the local conditions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding periods of Gerbillus cheesmani (Rodentia, Muridae) in Saudi Arabia

Henry

Dubost

2012

Mammalia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous ecological studies (Withers 1979(Withers , 1983George 1981) also supported this expectation. Our spatial data, however, were complicated by the unexpected indirect human influence on the population.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Social monogamy in the noki or dassie-rat (Petromus typicus) in Namibia

Rathbun

2006

Mammalian Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The noki or dassie-rat (Petromus typicus) is a little-studied diurnal hystricognath rodent endemic to rocky outcrops in south-western Africa. An intermittent study in Namibia of 11 radio-tagged individuals, with over 250 h of direct observation, was done between 2000 and 2004 to document their basic natural history, including their social organization. The study was terminated when noki numbers collapsed, probably due to predation by an expanding population of black mongooses (Galerella nigrata) that was unintentionally provisioned with food at a nearby eco-tourist lodge. Male and female adults were distributed as monogamous pairs on home ranges that were similar in size and shape. The pair bond was strong, with many coordinated behaviours. Reproduction was seasonal with litters of single highly precocial young. Multiple generations remained on the parental home range without significant aggression. Most aggression was between adult males, while adult females showed tolerance towards each other and intruding adult males. Although noki social monogamy is probably the result of male mate guarding, considerable paternal care was observed, including allogrooming and vigilance against predators. Nokis have a relatively low metabolic rate and numerous thermoregulatory behaviours that suggest that nocturnal huddling by the male with his mate and young may be an important factor in the evolution of their social monogamy.

show abstract

“…All animals were sampled after winter and before the seasonal breeding starts (Withers, 1983; Muteka et al, 2006), and it is therefore highly unlikely that any animal would be younger than 4 months. By comparing the range of lens weights in Namaqua rock mice, we observe a 63% increase in lens weight between the presumably youngest to the oldest animal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat-specific shaping of proliferation and neuronal differentiation in adult hippocampal neurogenesis of wild rodents

Cavegn¹,

Dijk²,

Menges³

et al. 2013

Front. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Daily life of wild mammals is characterized by a multitude of attractive and aversive stimuli. The hippocampus processes complex polymodal information associated with such stimuli and mediates adequate behavioral responses. How newly generated hippocampal neurons in wild animals contribute to hippocampal function is still a subject of debate. Here, we test the relationship between adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) and habitat types. To this end, we compare wild Muridae species of southern Africa [Namaqua rock mouse (Micaelamys namaquensis), red veld rat (Aethomys chrysophilus), highveld gerbil (Tatera brantsii), and spiny mouse (Acomys spinosissimus)] with data from wild European Muridae [long-tailed wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), pygmy field mice (Apodemus microps), yellow-necked wood mice (Apodemus flavicollis), and house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)] from previous studies. The pattern of neurogenesis, expressed in normalized numbers of Ki67- and Doublecortin(DCX)-positive cells to total granule cells (GCs), is similar for the species from a southern African habitat. However, we found low proliferation, but high neuronal differentiation in rodents from the southern African habitat compared to rodents from the European environment. Within the African rodents, we observe additional regulatory and morphological traits in the hippocampus. Namaqua rock mice with previous pregnancies showed lower AHN compared to males and nulliparous females. The phylogenetically closely related species (Namaqua rock mouse and red veld rat) show a CA4, which is not usually observed in murine rodents. The specific features of the southern environment that may be associated with the high number of young neurons in African rodents still remain to be elucidated. This study provides the first evidence that a habitat can shape adult neurogenesis in rodents across phylogenetic groups.

show abstract

Seasonal reproduction by small mammals of the Namib desert

Cited by 13 publications

References 14 publications

Breeding periods of Gerbillus cheesmani (Rodentia, Muridae) in Saudi Arabia

Breeding periods of Gerbillus cheesmani (Rodentia, Muridae) in Saudi Arabia

Social monogamy in the noki or dassie-rat (Petromus typicus) in Namibia

Habitat-specific shaping of proliferation and neuronal differentiation in adult hippocampal neurogenesis of wild rodents

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About