scholarly journals Population cycles and outbreaks of small rodents: ten essential questions we still need to solve

Oecologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry P. Andreassen ◽  
Janne Sundell ◽  
Fraucke Ecke ◽  
Stefan Halle ◽  
Marko Haapakoski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Large Amplitude ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Population Cycles ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Rodent Population ◽  
The World ◽  
Essential Questions ◽  
Rodent Populations

AbstractMost small rodent populations in the world have fascinating population dynamics. In the northern hemisphere, voles and lemmings tend to show population cycles with regular fluctuations in numbers. In the southern hemisphere, small rodents tend to have large amplitude outbreaks with less regular intervals. In the light of vast research and debate over almost a century, we here discuss the driving forces of these different rodent population dynamics. We highlight ten questions directly related to the various characteristics of relevant populations and ecosystems that still need to be answered. This overview is not intended as a complete list of questions but rather focuses on the most important issues that are essential for understanding the generality of small rodent population dynamics.

Of Mice and Men: What Rodent Populations Can Teach Us about Complex Spatial Dynamics

1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Couclelis
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Cellular Automaton ◽  
Chaotic System ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
System Behavior ◽  
Rodent Population ◽  
Rodent Populations ◽  
Scientific Fields

Models of complex systems need not be themselves complex, let alone complicated. To illustrate this important point, a very simple cellular automaton model of rodent population dynamics is used to generate a wide variety of different spatiotemporal structures corresponding to different forms of equilibrium, cyclical, quasi-cyclical, and chaotic system behavior. The issue of complexity as it pertains to a number of different contemporary scientific fields is then discussed, and in particular its implications for prediction. The discussion ends with some general reflexions about modeling in human geography.

scholarly journals Public health implications of rodent-borne zoonotic diseases

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Vrinda Menon K. ◽  
Jolly Deepa
Keyword(s):  
Human Population ◽  
Hemorrhagic Fever ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Zoonotic Diseases ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Rodent Population ◽  
The World ◽  
Rodent Populations

Rodents are the most abundant and diversified order of living mammals in the world. Their proximity with human population helps in the transmission of various zoonotic diseases. They are known to transmit around 60 common zoonotic diseases and not only serve as reservoirs of some of the emerging zoonoses but also hosts for a number of infectious diseases. They also provide a nexus between wildlife and humans exposing humans to zoonotic diseases circulating in the natural ecosystem. Rodent populations fluctuate in abundance over both seasonal and multiannual time scales. Rodents are known to be the primary or definitive host for diseases like plague, leptospirosis, Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, leishmaniasis, hymenolepiasis, and moniliformiasis; whereas in other diseases, rodents act as the secondary host. There is an urgent need for field studies of rodent population to determine the likely role of particular rodent species as reservoirs of these diseases and to understand rodent-human interactions. Keywords: Rodents, Zoonotic diseases

scholarly journals Comunidad de pequeños roedores en una milpa tradicional del centro de Yucatán, México.

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Cimé-Pool ◽  
Silvia F. Hernández-Betancourt ◽  
Juan Chablé-Santos
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
Cultivated Plant

Abstract. A small rodent species was studied in two agroecosystems from Yucatan: (1) a traditional cornfield and (2) an induced grassland. A total of 87 individuals of six species in two families (Heteromyidae y Cricetidae) were captured rendering an effort of  2,544 nights/trap. Heteromys gaumeri and Peromyscus yucatanicus were the most abundant species with 57.5% and 17.2% of total captures, respectively. Highest captures were recorded in the traditional cornfield and the highest species richness was obtained in the grassland. No significant differences in diversity were found between sites (p > 0.05). It seems that the cornfield plays an important role on both the diversity and population dynamics of small rodents because it presents the highest values in captures, density, recruitment, and in reproductive individuals. This may be related to a greater variety of cultivated plant species in this agroecosystem. Key words: Small mammals, rodents, Cornfield, Grassland, Yucatan, Mexico. Palabras clave: Pequeños mamíferos, roedores, milpa, pastizal, Yucatán, México.

Modelling Small Rodent Population Dynamics: Suggestions to Empiricists, Theoreticians and Editors

Oikos ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Hansson ◽  
Nils Chr. Stenseth
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Rodent Population

scholarly journals Cascade effects of slope gradient on ground vegetation and small-rodent populations in a forest ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-213
Author(s):  
Jae-Kang Lee ◽  
Hyun-Su Hwang ◽  
Tae-Kyung Eum ◽  
Ho-Kyoung Bae ◽  
Shin-Jae Rhim
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Larix Kaempferi ◽  
Field Mouse ◽  
Slope Gradient ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Cascade Effects ◽  
Rodent Populations

Abstract In this study, we set out to determine the cascade effects of slope gradient on ground vegetation and small-rodent populations in a forest ecosystem. We focused on two forest-dwelling small rodents with different habitat requirements, the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (preferring dense ground vegetation) and the Korean field mouse A. peninsulae (dense forest and woodland). The study area comprised natural deciduous forests and Japanese larch Larix kaempferi plantations in South Korea. The abundance of A. agrarius but not that of A. peninsulae was related to slope gradient. There was a negative effect of slope gradient on ground vegetation coverage and a positive effect of ground vegetation on A. agrarius populations. Our results highlight that the population of A. agrarius was indirectly influenced by the negative effects of slope gradient on ground vegetation. Slope gradient can, therefore, be a limiting factor in the microhabitats occupied by small rodents. This study reveals a critical role for slope gradient since it can modify not only microhabitat conditions, but also small-rodent populations, and this finding can contribute to improved microhabitat management.

scholarly journals Small Rodent Populations and Conifer Seedling Damage on a Reclaimed Area in West Central Alberta

1989 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan J. Kennedy ◽  
David F. Penner ◽  
Jeffrey E. Green
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
West Central ◽  
Rodent Populations ◽  
Conifer Seedling

Small rodent populations and conifer seedling survival were monitored on a reclaimed area in west central Alberta from September 1979 to September 1985. Although several species of cricetid rodents and shrews were captured during the live-trapping program, only meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) occurred in sufficient number to monitor annual changes in abundance. Meadow voles increased rapidly on the reclaimed area from 1979–1981, remained at high numbers until 1984, then declined sharply in 1985. Deer mice increased to moderate numbers from 1979–1981 and declined gradually until 1983. By 1984–1985, very few deer mice were present.Two species of conifer seedlings, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and white spruce (Picea glauca) were planted on the reclaimed area in 1979 and 1980. Numbers of seedlings killed or damaged by small rodents, primarily by girdling, increased sharply in 1981 and remained at high levels through to 1984. Significant correlations between the percentage of the annual mortality of seedlings attributed to small rodents or the percentage of live seedlings damaged by small rodents, and the abundance of meadow voles the previous winter, indicate that the amount of mortality and damage to seedlings in this reclamation area is in part determined by the overwintering abundance of meadow voles. This is in direct agreement with conclusions from similar studies in other areas of North America and Europe.

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