Seasonal reproduction in the Arabian spiny mouse, Acomys dimidiatus (Rodentia: Muridae) from Saudi Arabia: The role of rainfall and temperature

Abstract

In deserts where unpredictable rainfall arises and a large variation in temperature occurs, this poses severe energetic and water related constraints on reproduction in small mammals and makes the use of photoperiod as cue for reproduction unreliable. In the present study, the gonad morphometrics, gonadal histology and endocrine profiles of the Arabian spiny mouse (Acomys dimidiatus) were studied over 12 consecutive months in a field population from western Saudi Arabia in an attempt to assess the seasonality of reproduction and gain insights into the environmental cues that may trigger reproduction in this species. Although sperm 1 was present throughout the year, most reproductive parameters exhibited a seasonal pattern with a minimum in winter in both sexes and pregnancies were observed from spring to autumn. Whereas testes volume, the number of corpora lutea and progesterone levels were correlated with temperature, all other reproductive parameters were correlated with rainfall.Thus, it appears that A. dimidiatus ceases to breed during winter and uses rainfall as an environmental cue to initiate reproduction in the study area. However, the species appears to have the ability to reproduce throughout the year, if favourable conditions arise.

The reproductive biology of the Ethiopian hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, from central Saudi Arabia: The role of rainfall and temperature

“…The onset of the breeding season in the females was directly associated with the first occurrence of precipitation in spring. Precipitation occurred during March, and following this time vegetation sprouted and insects became abundant enabling reproduction to arise as has been observed in the Baluchistan gerbil and Arabian spiny mouse in south western Saudi Arabia (Sarli et al, 2015(Sarli et al, , 2016. The results from this study provide additional support of the behavioural observations of Yamaguchi et al (2013) that courtship and copulation in the hedgehog arises in March, despite the former study taking place around a rubbish dump.…”

“…To date there has been relatively few detailed studies investigating reproduction over an entire calendar year in small mammals from Saudi Arabia. Henry and Dubost (2012), studying Cheeseman's gerbil, Gerbillus cheesmani, and Sarli et al (2015Sarli et al ( , 2016, studying the Baluchistan gerbil, Gerbillus nanus, and the Arabian spiny mouse, Acomys dimidiatus, from south western Saudi Arabia, found these murids to cue their reproduction to rainfall. In fact, both the males and females synchronise their reproduction to the short spring rains, rapidly producing offspring that can benefit from the subsequent primary productivity.…”

Characterizing the reproductive transcriptomic correlates of acute dehydration in males in the desert-adapted rodent, Peromyscus eremicus

“…The integral role of water as a reproductive cue for desert-rodents has also been demonstrated in water-supplementation studies ( reviewed in [45, 50]) as well as research on the effects of desert rainfall [51–54]. Thus, Schwimmer and Haim [46] asserted that reproductive timing is the most evolutionarily important adaptation for desert rodents.…”

Characterizing the reproductive transcriptomic correlates of acute dehydration in males in the desert-adapted rodent,Peromyscus eremicus

“…The integral role of water as a reproductive cue for desert-rodents has also been demonstrated in water-supplementation studies (reviewed in [45,50]) as well as research on the effects of desert rainfall [51][52][53][54]. Thus, Schwimmer and Haim [46] asserted that reproductive timing is the most evolutionarily important adaptation for desert rodents.…”

“…Furthermore, watersupplementation studies among wild desert rodents resulted in prolonged breeding seasons in the hairyfooted gerbil and the four-striped grass mouse, but not in the Cape short-eared gerbil [50]. Recent research has confirmed the importance of rainfall as a reproductive cue in the Arabian spiny mouse [51], the Baluchistan gerbil [52], Chessman's gerbil [53] and the Spinifex hopping mouse [54]. The focus of this previous research was to investigate reproductive cues and consequences of water-limitation in desert rodents, namely how species have adapted breeding onset and cessation patterns to respond to water availability.…”