Population Cycles of Small Rodents in Fennoscandia

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilkka Hanski ◽  
Heikki Henttonen
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Population Cycle ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Northern Fennoscandia ◽  
Finnish Lapland ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Rodent Community

The earliest records of small rodents in Fennoscandia date back to the sixteenth century. Ziegler (1532) and Magnus (1555) reported mass occurrences of the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus), which supposedly descended from the sky, a hypothesis that prevailed for the next 300 years (Henttonen and Kaikusalo 1993)! The first scientific papers on lemmings (Fellman 1848, Ehrstöm 1852) clearly recognized periodicity of lemming dynamics in Finnish Lapland (for a review see Henttonen and Kaikusalo 1993). Collett (1878, 1895, 1911-12) compiled extensive data on lemmings in Norway more than 100 years ago, providing critical material for Elton (1924) to describe the population cycle of small rodents. As these early records suggest, the Norwegian lemming is the most conspicuous member of the small rodent community in northern Fennoscandia, both in appearance and abundance, but apart from mountainous regions, the Fennoscandian small rodent cycle actually refers to Microtus and Clethrionomys voles rather than to lemmings. At present, the small rodent cycle in Fennoscandia is one of the best documented examples of cyclic population dynamics. Several recent papers review the state of knowledge on small rodent population dynamics in Fennoscandia and elsewhere (Norrdahl 1995, Krebs 1996, Boonstra et al. 1998, Stenseth 1999, Henttonen and Hanski 2000, Turchin and Hanski 2001). One might think that the “puzzle” of rodent cycles has been solved a long time ago, and that the Fennoscandian small rodent dynamics might serve as a useful reference for the study of cyclic populations in general. Unfortunately, this is not so, although substantial progress has been made over the past 15 years, so that we now have a well-supported hypothesis to explain the small rodent dynamics in Fennoscandia. There are several reasons why progress has been slow in unraveling the secrets of the small rodent cycle. First, small rodents occur in great abundance throughout the world and there was a tendency to assume that the rodent cycle, especially in northern latitudes, was a universal phenomenon, calling for a universal explanation (Krebs and Myers-1974). However, this is not so.

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.

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.

Small rodent communities (Muridae) in Gabonese savannas: species diversity and biogeographical affinities

Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Mboumba ◽  
Maxime R. Hervé ◽  
Véronique Guyot ◽  
Frederic Ysnel
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
South West ◽  
New Information ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Mus Minutoides ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Coastal Basin

Abstract The study contributes to the knowledge of species composition and biogeographical affinities of savannas rodent in Gabon. Unlike small rodents in Gabonese forests, there is little data on the diversity of small rodents in Gabonese savannas. The diversity and distribution of rodent murid communities was studied in four different types of savanna in Gabon: Coastal Basin (South-West), Lopé/Okanda (in the Center), Batéké Plateaux (Southeastern) and Ngougnié/ N’yanga (in the South). A total of 428 individuals representing six species were captured over 11,920 trap nights. Trap success was highly variable (2.2–6.9 %). The most abundant species were Mus minutoides (69%) followed by Lemniscomys striatus (21.5%). Indices of species richness varied from 2 to 5 and diversity (Shannon and Weaver) was low in the four savannas with the highest value at Ngougnié/N’yanga (H′ = 1.2). Species distributions show that Gabonese savanna small rodents conform to four distribution types, with one species known from Zambesian savannas exhibiting austral affinities (Pelomys campanae: occurs in three southern savannas). This new information provides important insight into the biogeography of small rodents at a local and regional level. Moreover, the correspondence analysis highlighted an influence of local ecological factors on population abundance.

scholarly journals Climatic Factors, Reproductive Success and Population Dynamics in the Montane Vole Microtus Montanus

2005 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 49-51
Author(s):  
Alita Pinter
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Microtus Montanus ◽  
Small Measure ◽  
Long Term Studies

A variety of hypotheses has been proposed to explain multiannual fluctuations in population density ("cycles") of small rodents (for reviews see Finerty 1980, Taitt and Krebs 1985). Doubtless, such cycles - known since antiquity (Elton 1942) - result from an interaction of a multitude of factors. However, the inability of extant hypotheses, alone or in combination, to explain the causality of cycles rests in no small measure with the fact that long-term studies of the phenomenon are notoriously uncommon.

scholarly journals Inadequate Sampling Rates Can Undermine the Reliability of Ecological Interaction Estimation

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Brenno Cabella ◽  
Fernando Meloni ◽  
Alexandre S. Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Slow Rate ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Volterra Model ◽  
Population Cycle ◽  
Cycle Period ◽  
Oscillatory Regime ◽  
Ecological Interaction ◽  
Effect Relationship ◽  
Acquisition Rates

Cycles in population dynamics are abundant in nature and are understood as emerging from the interaction among coupled species. When sampling is conducted at a slow rate compared to the population cycle period (aliasing effect), one is prone to misinterpretations. However, aliasing has been poorly addressed in coupled population dynamics. To illustrate the aliasing effect, the Lotka–Volterra model oscillatory regime is numerically sampled, creating prey–predator cycles. We show that inadequate sampling rates may produce inversions in the cause-effect relationship among other artifacts. More generally, slow acquisition rates may distort data interpretation and produce deceptive patterns and eventually leading to misinterpretations, as predators becoming preys. Experiments in coupled population dynamics should be designed that address the eventual aliasing effect.

Duckling production of the Oldsquaw in relation to spring weather and small-rodent fluctuations

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1835-1841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olof Pehrsson
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Small Rodent ◽  
Time Of Arrival ◽  
Northern Sweden ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Brood Production ◽  
Ephemeral Lakes ◽  
Alternative Prey Hypothesis ◽  
Clangula Hyemalis

The duckling production of the Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) was studied between 1969 and 1974 in Torne Lapmark in northern Sweden. The degrees of relationship among various indices of reproductive output, climatic factors, and fluctuations in small rodents were estimated. Total brood and duckling production were calculated. A correlation between first observations of broods and time of arrival of spring indicated that the Oldsquaw breeds as early as possible, an adaptation to the utilization of ephemeral lakes. Peaks in duckling production correlated well with peaks in the abundance of small rodents but not as well with climatic variables. Twice as many ducklings were produced during the rodent peak years as during the intervening years, and the densities of the Oldsquaw population were highest the year after these peaks in brood production. The positive correlation between duckling production and population size in small rodents seems to be analogous to grouse–rodent cycles, and both are best explained by the predator-shift or the alternative prey hypothesis.

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