Sheep grazing causes shift in sex ratio and cohort structure of Brandt's vole: Implication of their adaptation to food shortage

Li, Guoliang; Hou, Xiyong; Wan, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Zhibin

doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12163

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Voles were captured using live traps made by wire mesh (Figure , left) in grasslands around East Ujimqin Banner (45°30′N, 116°58′E; Inner Mongolia, China) from 2010 to 2012 and in 2014. All captured voles were brought to a laboratory in Maodong pasture of Xilinhot (44°11′N, 116°27′E; Li, Hou, et al, ) for tissue sampling. Age classification was based on body mass and then pelage colour.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brandt's vole ( Lasiopodomys brandtii , Figure a) is a small, nonhibernating, herbivorous and social rodent that is mainly distributed in the steppes in China, the Republic of Mongolia and the Baikal Lake region of Russia (Liu, Yue, Wang, Li, & Cong, ; Wang et al, ; Yue, Wang, Huang, & Liu, ; Zhong, Wang, Zhou, & Wang, ; Zhong, Wang, & Wan, ). Following overt seasonal changes in its habitat (Figure b), Brandt's vole shows strong seasonal breeding and its population size increases dramatically from spring (early March) to autumn (late August) (Zhong et al, ; Zhong et al, ; Li, Hou, Wan, & Zhang, ; Li, Yin, et al, ; Figure c,d). Mass of gonadal glands of adult voles is approximately 20‐fold heavier in June than in October (Liu & Sun, ; Wang, Cong, Wang, & Liu, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dynamic expressions of hypothalamic genes regulate seasonal breeding in a natural rodent population

Wang

Tian

et al. 2019

Molecular Ecology

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Seasonal breeding is a universal reproductive strategy in many animals. Hypothalamic genes, especially type 2 and 3 iodothyronine deiodinases (Dio2/3), RFamide‐related peptide 3 (Rfrp‐3), kisspeptin (Kiss‐1) and gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH), are involved in a photoperiodic pathway that encodes seasonal signals from day length in many vertebrate species. However, the seasonal expression patterns of these genes in wild mammals are less studied. Here, we present a four‐year field investigation to reveal seasonal rhythm and age‐dependent reproductive activity in male Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) and to detect relationships among seasonal expression profiles of hypothalamic genes, testicular activity, age and annual day length. From breeding season (April) to nonbreeding season (October), adult male voles displayed a synchronous peak in gonadal activity with annual day length around summer solstice, which was jointly caused by age structure shifts and age‐dependent gonadal development patterns. Overwintered males maintained reproductive activity until late in the breeding season, whereas most newborn males terminated gonadal development completely, except for a minority of males born early in spring. Consistently, the synchronous and opposite expression profiles of Dio2/3 suggest their central function to decode photoperiodic signals and to predict the onset of the nonbreeding season. Moreover, changes in Dio2/3 signals may guide the actions of Kiss‐1 and Rfrp‐3 to regulate the age‐dependent divergence of reproductive strategy in wild Brandt's vole. Our results provide evidence on how hypothalamic photoperiod genes regulate seasonal breeding in a natural rodent population.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic expressions of hypothalamic genes regulate seasonal breeding in a natural rodent population

Wang

Tian

et al. 2019

Molecular Ecology

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“…The protocol for enclosure experiments was repeated every year. For more details of the large manipulative experiments, please see Li, Hou, Wan, and Zhang (2016).…”

Section: Enclosure Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary shifts influenced by livestock grazing shape the gut microbiota composition and co‐occurrence networks in a local rodent species

Kohl

et al. 2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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The collapse of large wild herbivores with replacement of livestock is causing global plant community and diversity shifts, resulting in altered food availability and diet composition of other sympatric small herbivores in grasslands. How diet shifts affect the gut microbiota of small mammals and whether these changes may translate into complex interactions among coexisting herbivores remain largely unknown. We conducted both a field experiment and a laboratory diet manipulation experiment to test whether sheep grazing induces a diet shift and thus alters the gut microbiota of a small rodent species living in grassland. We found that enclosures subjected to grazing were mostly dominated by Stipa krylovii (accounting for 53.6% of the total biomass) and that voles consumed significantly more S. krylovii and less Cleistogenes squarrosa in grazed enclosures. Voles in grazing enclosures exhibited significantly lower abundances of Firmicutes, higher abundances of Bacteroidetes and significantly lower measurements of alpha diversity. The microbiota from voles in the grazed enclosures had a smaller and more simplified co‐occurrence network with relatively higher percentage of positive interactions. Analysis based on dietary clusters indicated that grazing‐induced changes in diet composition contributed to the distinct gut microbial community of voles in enclosures. We verified our findings using laboratory experiments, in which voles were exclusively fed C. squarrosa (high carbohydrate, high fibre and high in secondary compounds), S. krylovii (low carbohydrate, low fibre and low in secondary compounds) or Leymus chinensis (nutritionally intermediate). We observed that the gut microbiota of voles changed with the three different diets, supporting the idea that the effects of sheep grazing on the gut microbiota of Brandt's voles may be related to grazing‐induced diet shifts. Our results highlighted the negative effects of livestock grazing on small mammals in grassland via changes in plant community and gut microbiota of small mammals and help to better understand the cascading consequences of realistic scenarios of world‐wide decline in large wild herbivores.

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“…It is a major rodent pest species in the Inner Mongolian steppes in China and there were outbreaks from the 1990s to the 2010s. However, the mechanism of its population dynamic is still unclear (Zhong et al 1998;Li & Liu 1999;Wan et al 2002;Zhang et al 2003;Li et al 2016aLi et al ,b, 2017. Brandt's vole is a social, short-lived (less than 14 months), seasonal breeding rodent species (Liu & Sun 1993;Li & Liu 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship analysis reveals reproductive success skewed toward overwintered Brandt's voles in semi‐natural enclosures

Chen

Wang

et al. 2019

Integrative Zoology

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Age structure and seasonality influence the population fluctuations of small rodents. Age determines body weight and social experience, while seasonality regulates the duration of the breeding season and onset of sexual maturity in newborn offspring. Therefore, reproductive success and skew usually occur in different age groups. Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii) is a social, short lived, and seasonal breeding small rodent with a dramatic seasonal population fluctuation, but reproductive skew is not fully understood in this species. In present study, we determined kinship in semi-natural enclosure populations by microsatellite markers based on genotyping, analyzed the reproductive skew between sexes and between overwintered and newborn voles, and monitored variation in male reproductive activity by testing fecal testosterone levels throughout the year. Overwintered voles had the majority of the reproductive success along with a striking increase in the population size in the enclosures, with all biological fathers and 77.8% of biological mothers overwintered voles, which had 100% and 87% of the total offspring, respectively. Compared to overwintered voles, reproductive skews were significantly higher in potential overwintered and newborn parents, implying the possible reproductive suppression of newborn voles by dominant overwintered voles. Moreover, both heavier body weight and higher testosterone levels in overwintered males supported their potential social status in the population. Our study provided new evidence for reproductive skew and differentiation of postnatal gonadal development patterns of different age groups in Brandt's vole. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Sheep grazing causes shift in sex ratio and cohort structure of Brandt's vole: Implication of their adaptation to food shortage

Cited by 25 publications

References 50 publications

Dynamic expressions of hypothalamic genes regulate seasonal breeding in a natural rodent population

Dynamic expressions of hypothalamic genes regulate seasonal breeding in a natural rodent population

Dietary shifts influenced by livestock grazing shape the gut microbiota composition and co‐occurrence networks in a local rodent species

Kinship analysis reveals reproductive success skewed toward overwintered Brandt's voles in semi‐natural enclosures

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