Microgeographic Variation in Mitochondrial DNA of Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) in Relation to Population Density

Evolution ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Plante ◽  
Peter T. Boag ◽  
Bradley N. White
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Microgeographic Variation

scholarly journals MICROGEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN MITOCHONDRIAL DNA OF MEADOW VOLES (MICROTUS PENNSYLVANICUS ) IN RELATION TO POPULATION DENSITY

Evolution ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1522-1537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Plante ◽  
Peter T. Boag ◽  
Bradley N. White
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Microgeographic Variation

Nondestructive sampling of mitochondrial DNA from voles (Microtus)

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Plante ◽  
Peter T. Boag ◽  
Bradley N. White
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Dna Polymorphisms ◽  
Biochemical Taxonomy ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Cellular Dna

We present two techniques for sampling mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) without killing individual voles. Total cellular DNA was extracted from small blood samples (100–250 μL) and tail segments (2 cm long) collected from meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). Restriction fragment patterns produced by the restriction endonucleases HindIII, BamH1, and EcoR1 after hybridization with a probe of nick-translated mtDNA compared well with standard mtDNA assays. Both techniques can be used in the field, and should prove useful in biochemical taxonomy as well as in investigations of population structure, dispersal, and social interactions on both micro- and macro-geographic scales. The Southern blots produced by these procedures have the added advantage of being reuseable, so that nuclear DNA polymorphisms can be examined with appropriate probes.

scholarly journals Effects of Prior Population Density on Use of Space by Meadow Voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Pugh ◽  
R. S. Ostfeld
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Use Of Space

Macrogeographic variation in mitochondrial DNA of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Plante ◽  
Peter T. Boag ◽  
Bradley N. White
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Fragment Length Polymorphism ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Population Fluctuations ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Mtdna Sequence ◽  
Nucleotide Divergence ◽  
Phenotype Diversity ◽  
Single Locality

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from 99 meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) collected in 13 localities and from 2 Townsend's voles (M. townsendii) from a single locality was assayed for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with 13 restriction endonucleases. There was evidence of extensive mtDNA sequence heterogeneity within and among meadow vole populations. Thirty-eight different mtDNA composite phenotypes were found. Two common mtDNA composite phenotypes were shared among five populations, the other mtDNA composite phenotypes being characteristic of individual populations. Estimates of nucleon diversity (ĥ) were high (0.303–0.893), as were measures of intrapopulational nucleotide divergence (px values ranged from 0.0 to 0.038). Population fluctuations and periodic dispersal are the likely mechanisms maintaining high mtDNA composite phenotype diversity in meadow vole populations. Overall interpopulational nucleotide divergence (pxy) was also high (values ranged from 0.007 to 0.045). Cluster analysis clearly separates M. pennsylvanicus and M. townsendii and suggests the separation of the meadow vole populations into eastern and central groups, but there is little evidence of structure within the regional groups. Based on the zoogeography of the populations sampled, the mtDNA RFLP data support the differentiation of Microtus pennsylvanicus into at least two previously described subspecies.

PARASITIZATION OF MEADOW VOLES, MICROTUS PENNSYLVANICUS (ORD), BY AMERICAN DOG TICKS, DERMACENTOR VARIABILIS (SAY), AND ADULT TICK MOVEMENT DURING HIGH HOST DENSITY1

1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Carroll ◽  
J. D. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Adult Tick ◽  
Dermacentor Variabilis ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Annual Basis ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Significant Difference

The numbers of host-seeking adult American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), in a sweet gum field in Maryland reflected changes in the population density of a host species, the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord), which within 1.5 yr fell from an estimated 157 to 8 voles on a 0.8 ha grid. During high vole density, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in tick burdens between sexes on an annual basis. Juvenile and subadult voles (< 33 g) harbored significantly fewer D. variabilis larvae and nymphs than did mature voles (> 33 g) on an annual basis. However, during periods of both peak host-seeking activity by D. variabilis larvae and nymphs and high host density nearly all the voles examined were infested. There was no evidence of a relationship between weight of adult voles and likelihood of parasitization by D. variabilis during months of moderate tick host-seeking activity. Of 163 adult D. variabilis recaptured ≥ one week after marking, 86 (52.7%) had moved > 3.8 m, 59 (36.2%) > 5.3 m.

scholarly journals Seasonal control of odour preferences of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) by photoperiod and ovarian hormones

Reproduction ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Ferkin ◽  
I. Zucker
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Hormones ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles

Winter coexistence of voles in spruce forest: relevance of seasonal changes in aggression

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian N. Turner ◽  
Michael R. Perrin ◽  
Stuart L. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Vole Population ◽  
Reproductive Condition ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Nonbreeding Season ◽  
Short Period

Beginning in November 1973, numerous meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) moved onto a spruce forest grid occupied by red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi). A resident meadow vole population resulted, the two species coexisting until April 1974, when most meadow voles disappeared from the grid during a relatively short period. Interspecific aggression levels, as determined from voles temporarily removed from the populations and tested in paired encounters in a laboratory arena, were low during the winter, but increased when males of both species entered reproductive condition in the spring. Microtus was generally dominant in early breeding period encounters, but this dominance declined concurrently with the meadow voles' disappearance from the forest. It is argued that meadow voles did not leave the forest to breed, or because the snow cover melted, since this species will live and reproduce in forest in the absence of Clethrionomys. The results are interpreted as support for an earlier hypothesis that competitive habitat exclusion varies seasonally with reproduction-related aggression. Thus, these species apparently may coexist in either of their preferred habitats when interspecific aggression is low (the nonbreeding season), but this relationship terminates when interspecific aggression levels increase with the resumption of breeding in the spring.

Experimental analysis of behaviour of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) to odours of the short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea)

Ecoscience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Joseph Parsons ◽  
Søren Bondrup-Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Analysis ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Mustela Erminea

scholarly journals The duration of sociosexual behaviors in male meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus varies before, during, and after copulation

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee A. Vaughn ◽  
Daniel A. Ferkin ◽  
Javier Delbarco-Trillo ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Voles

Abstract The behaviors that surround copulation are characterized as sociosexual behaviors. These behaviors displayed by males that are directed at females may include allogrooming, wrestling, chasing, approach, and time spent together. The data supported the hypothesis that the duration of sociosexual behaviors differs during the pre-copulatory, peri-copulatory, and post-copulatory phases of the mating bout in meadow voles. Voles spent more time approaching conspecifics during the pre- and peri-copulatory phases than during the post-copulatory phase. Voles spent more time allogrooming, wrestling, and chasing during the pre-copulatory phase than during the peri- and post-copulatory phases. Voles spent similar amounts of time together during the pre-, peri-, and post-copulatory phases. The data suggest that sociosexual behaviors displayed by males may be involved in setting the pace and temporal components of the mating bout. During the pre-copulatory phase particular behaviors by male voles may attract females, during the peri-copulatory phase some of these behaviors may stimulate or motivate the female to mate, and during the post-copulatory phase certain behaviors may prepare the male to mate again.

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