scholarly journals Mediterranean Pine Vole, Microtus duodecimcostatus: A Paradigm of an Opportunistic Breeder

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1639
Author(s):  
Miguel Lao-Pérez ◽  
Diaa Massoud ◽  
Francisca M. Real ◽  
Alicia Hurtado ◽  
Esperanza Ortega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Functional Regression ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Poplar Plantations ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine ◽  
Animal House ◽  
Testis Regression

Most mammalian species of the temperate zones of the Earth reproduce seasonally, existing a non-breeding period in which the gonads of both sexes undergo functional regression. It is widely accepted that photoperiod is the principal environmental cue controlling these seasonal changes, although several exceptions have been described in other mammalian species in which breeding depends on cues such as food or water availability. We studied the circannual reproductive cycle in males of the Mediterranean pine vole, Microtus duodecimcostatus, in the Southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Morphological, hormonal, functional, molecular and transcriptomic analyses were performed. As reported for populations of other species from the same geographic area, male voles captured in wastelands underwent seasonal testis regression in summer whereas, surprisingly, those living either in close poplar plantations or in our animal house reproduced throughout the year, showing that it is the microenvironment of a particular vole subpopulation what determines its reproductive status and that these animals are pure opportunistic, photoperiod-independent breeders. In addition, we show that several molecular pathways, including MAPK, are deregulated and that the testicular “immune privilege” is lost in the inactive testes, providing novel mechanisms linking seasonal testosterone reduction and testis regression.

scholarly journals Cell adhesion and immune response, two main functions altered in the transcriptome of seasonally regressed testes of two mammalian species

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisca M. Real ◽  
Miguel Lao-Perez ◽  
Miguel Burgos ◽  
Stefan Mundlos ◽  
Dario G. Lupianez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Cell Adhesion ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Gene Expression Signature ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Seasonal Breeding ◽  
Analogous Data ◽  
Mediterranean Pine ◽  
Testis Regression

In species with seasonal breeding, male specimens undergo substantial testicular regression during the non-breeding period of the year. However, the molecular mechanisms that control this biological process are largely unknown. Here, we report a transcriptomic analysis on the Iberian mole, Talpa occidentalis, in which the desquamation of live, non-apoptotic germ cells is the major cellular event responsible for testis regression. By comparing testes at different reproductive states (active, regressing and inactive), we demonstrate that the molecular pathways controlling the cell adhesion function in the seminiferous epithelium, such as the MAPK, ERK and TGF-beta signalling, are altered during the regression process. In addition, inactive testes display a global upregulation of genes associated with immune response, indicating a selective loss of the immune privilege that normally operates in sexually active testes. Interspecies comparative analyses using analogous data from the Mediterranean pine vole, a rodent species where testis regression is controlled by halting meiosis entry, revealed a common gene expression signature in the regressed testes of these two evolutionary distant species. Our study advances in the knowledge of the molecular mechanisms associated to gonadal seasonal breeding, highlighting the existence of a conserved transcriptional program of testis involution across mammalian clades.

scholarly journals Determinación de los orígenes geográficos de los mamíferos silvestres decomisados por la Secretaría Distrital del Ambiente (SDA) en Bogotá (Colombia) mediante análisis moleculares durante 2017-2018

2020 ◽  
pp. 111-136
Author(s):  
Manuel Ruiz-García ◽  
Norberto Leguizamón ◽  
Aurita Bello ◽  
Myreya Pinedo-Castro ◽  
Juan Manuel Ortega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Cebus Apella ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Saimiri Sciureus ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Cebus Albifrons ◽  
Colombian Amazon ◽  
Surrounding Areas

Resumen En un país megadiverso, como Colombia, el nivel de tráfico ilegal de fauna es elevado. Una vez que esa fauna es decomisada es importante volverla a reintroducir en los lugares geográficos de donde proviene (en el supuesto caso que esa fauna esté en las condiciones óptimas para ser liberada). Durante 2017-2018, la Secretaría Distrital del Ambiente (SDA) decomisó 172 especímenes de mamíferos silvestres en la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia). Estos mamíferos pertenecieron a cinco órdenes (Primates, Rodentia, Carnivora, Didelphimorpha, y Xenarthra) y representaron 28 especies diferentes. El objetivo fundamental de este trabajo es mostrar la utilización de un conjunto de genes mitocondriales y nucleares (dependiendo de las especies) para determinar los orígenes geográficos de cada uno de esos especímenes. Aquí se muestran esos orígenes, lo que permite visualizar de qué áreas del país se produce mayoritariamente tráfico ilegal de mamíferos silvestres que llega a Bogotá, aunque en algunos casos no se pudo determinar el origen exacto de algunos especímenes. Cuatro especies de mamíferos, tres primates y una ardilla, (Cebus albifrons, Saimiri sciureus, Sciurus granatensis, y Cebus apella) representaron el 70 % de los ejemplares de mamíferos decomisados en Bogotá durante 2017-2018. La primera especie de primate y la ardilla procedieron mayoritariamente del norte del país (Costa Atlántica, Antioquia, y Santanderes), mientras que las otras dos especies de primates procedieron primordialmente de los Llanos Orientales y zona amazónica cercana a los Llanos. Adicionalmente, un segundo objetivo, más colateral, es la discusión de algunas cuestiones sistemáticas de los taxones decomisados. Abstra ct In a megadiverse country, such as Colombia is, the level of illegal fauna traffic is high. Once this fauna is confiscated, it is relevant to reintroduce it to the precise wild geographic area where was extracted (in the case that this fauna is in optimal condition to be released). During 2017-2018, the Secretaría Distrital del Ambiente (SDA) seized 172 specimens of wild mammals in the city of Bogotá (Colombia). These mammals belonged to five orders (Primates, Rodentia, Carnivora, Didelphimorpha, and Xenarthra) and represented 28 different species. The first and main objective is to show how a set of mitochondrial and nuclear genes (depending on each species) could help to determine the geographical origins of each one of these specimens. We herein show these origins, which allows us to know from what country’s area the illegal fauna is coming to Bogotá, although in some cases we did not identify the precise origin of some specimens. Four mammalian species, three primates and one squirrel, (Cebus albifrons, Saimiri sciureus, Sciurus granatensis, and Cebus apella) represented 70 % of the mammalian specimens seized in Bogotá during 2017-2018. The first primate and the squirrel species were mainly originated from the northern area of the country (Atlantic coast, Antioquia, and Santanderes), meanwhile the other two primate species were primarily from the Eastern Llanos and surrounding areas from the northern Colombian Amazon. Additionally, a second, more collateral, objective is the discussion of some systematical questions of these taxa seized.

scholarly journals Historic and prehistoric human-driven extinctions have reshaped global mammal diversity patterns

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Faurby ◽  
Jens-Christian Svenning
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Environmental Diversity ◽  
Diversity Patterns ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Functional And Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Mammal Diversity

Aim: To assess the extent to which humans have reshaped Earth's biodiversity, by estimating natural ranges of all late Quaternary mammalian species, and to compare diversity patterns based on these with diversity patterns based on current distributions. Location: Globally Methods: We estimated species, functional and phylogenetic diversity patterns based on natural ranges of all mammalian species (n=5747 species) as they could have been today in the complete absence of human influence through time. Following this we compared macroecological analyses of current and natural diversity patterns to assess if human-induced range changes bias for evolutionary and ecological analyses based on current diversity patterns. Results: We find that current diversity patterns have been drastically modified by humans, mostly due to global extinctions and regional to local extirpations. Current and natural diversities exhibit marked deviations virtually everywhere outside sub-Saharan Africa. These differences are strongest for terrestrial megafauna, but also important for all mammals combined. The human-induced changes led to biases in estimates of environmental diversity drivers, especially for terrestrial megafauna, but also for all mammals combined. Main conclusions: Our results show that fundamental diversity patterns have been reshaped by human-driven extinctions and extirpations, highlighting humans as a major force in the Earth system. We thereby emphasize that estimating natural distributions and diversities is important to improve our understanding of the evolutionary and ecologically drivers of diversity as well as for providing a benchmark for conservation.

Body mass dynamics in the Mediterranean pine vole Microtus duodecimcostatus

1998 ◽  
Vol 245 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Paradis ◽  
Xiaoming Wang ◽  
Gerald Guedon ◽  
Henri Croset
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

scholarly journals Factors influencing large-scale distribution of two sister species of pine voles (Microtus lusitanicus and Microtus duodecimcostatus): the importance of spatial autocorrelation

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (12) ◽  
pp. 1227-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Santos ◽  
A. P. Mira ◽  
M. L. Mathias
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Relative Effect ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Spatial Characteristics ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

The Lusitanian pine vole ( Microtus lusitanicus (Gerbe, 1879)) and the Mediterranean pine vole ( Microtus duodecimcostatus de Selys-Longchamps, 1839) are sister species with burrowing habits and a restricted European distribution. Our aim was to assess the relative effect of environmental, soil, and spatial characteristics on the distribution of these species in Portugal, and obtain predicted occurrence maps for each species, particularly to identify areas of sympatry. We used spatial eigenvector mapping (SEVM) to describe the spatial autocorrelation in species data, and we partitioned the variance in species distributions to quantify the relative effects of environmental, soil, and spatial characteristics. The spatial variables explained the major part of variability in both species distributions and were more important than environmental or soil variables. The Lusitanian pine vole occurs in areas outside landscape units of grassland, higher rainfall, frost, and cambisols, with mostly acid soils, lower abundance of litosols, and presence of solonshaks. The Mediterranean pine vole is distributed in grassland areas within intermediate values of soil pH, dominated by litosols and luvisols, and lower rainfall, frost, and cambisols. Our results showed disjunct sympatric areas of small size and a parapatry boundary for the centre of Portugal, suggesting that contact zones are probably narrow.

scholarly journals Divergent Seasonal Reproductive Patterns in Syntopic Populations of Two Murine Species in Southern Spain, Mus spretus and Apodemus sylvaticus

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 243
Author(s):  
Diaa Massoud ◽  
Miguel Lao-Pérez ◽  
Esperanza Ortega ◽  
Miguel Burgos ◽  
Rafael Jiménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serum Testosterone ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
Molecular Study ◽  
Apodemus Sylvaticus ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Seasonal Reproduction ◽  
Seasonal Breeding ◽  
Mus Spretus ◽  
Species Population ◽  
Testis Regression

In most mammals with seasonal reproduction, males undergo testis regression during the non-breeding period. We performed a morphological, hormonal, functional, and molecular study of the testes of sexually inactive males of two species of murine rodents, the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, and the Algerian mouse, Mus spretus, in syntopic populations of southern Iberian peninsula. Both species reproduce during most of the year, but wood mice stop breeding in the summer whereas Algerian mice do it in winter. Sexually inactive males of A. sylvaticus show complete testis regression with reduced levels of serum testosterone and abnormal distribution of cell-adhesion molecules. Contrarily, inactive males of M. spretus maintain almost normal spermotogenesis despite a significant reduction of androgenic function. The lack of an evident explanation for the divergent seasonal breeding patterns found in southern populations of A. sylvaticus and M. spretus, compared with northern ones, implies that very subtle species/population-specific features and/or non-conspicuous environmental cues probably operate to determine their seasonal breeding pattern. These results also support the notion that multiple models of circannual testis variation are possible for different populations of the same species, showing that the mechanisms controlling seasonal reproduction are in fact very plastic and fast evolving.

Assessment of habitat quality in the Mediterranean pine vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus) by the study of survival rates

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1511-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Paradis ◽  
Henri Croset
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Population Models ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Open Population ◽  
Asynchronous Control ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Microtus Duodecimcostatus ◽  
Mediterranean Pine

Habitat quality should be usefully defined in a demographic perspective. Survival and fecundity rates are sufficient to allow population persistence in a high-quality habitat but not in a low-quality habitat. The Mediterranean pine vole (Microtus duodecimcostatus) occurs in apple orchards in southern France, but its populations in this habitat are often driven to extinction by chemical control. However, recolonization occurs promptly when control ceases. We tested the hypothesis that meadows surrounding the orchards are high-quality habitats (sources) for the Mediterranean pine vole. We livetrapped four populations, three in apple orchards and one in a meadow. Survival rates were estimated using probabilistic open-population models. Our analysis led us to conclude that meadows are low-quality habitats, particularly since no juveniles survived in this habitat during the main part of the study. Recolonization of chemically controlled patches is probably allowed by asynchronous control among orchards. We further discuss the usefulness of probabilistic open-population models for the investigation of variations in survival rates both within and between populations.

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