Zoonoses as factor of evolution, population dynamics, and speciation

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Igor Evstafiev ◽  
Igor Zagorodniuk
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Population Diversity ◽  
Crimean Peninsula ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Tick Borne Encephalitis ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Population Numbers

The role of zoonoses in changes of animal populations and communities is considered. The analysis was carried out using examples of population dynamics of small mammals distributed in the Crimean Peninsula, under the influence of the main zoonoses common for this territory, in particular tularaemia, leptospirosis, Marseille fever, viral tick-borne encephalitis, Ixodes tick-borne borreliosis, Crimea-Congo fever, KU fever, HFRS, and many others. Such data were analysed according to databases on the state of small-mammal populations and zoonoses common in these populations, obtained by original studies over the past 40 years. The role of zoonoses as factors of evolutionary changes in populations of small mammals is considered, in particular as a factor of mortality leading to significant reductions in population numbers and fragmentation of species ranges, as well as factors determining co-evolution of pathogens, vectors (arthropods), and small-mammals as hosts. Both groups of factors lead to the formation of population diversity due to changes in character variability and the formation of new characters associated with adaptations to zoonoses.

scholarly journals Testing predator - prey theory by studying fluctuating populations of small mammals.

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Boutin
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Limit Cycles ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Predator Satiation ◽  
Linear Type ◽  
Small Component ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fluctuating Populations

Fluctuating populations of small mammals provide an excellent opportunity to study the functional and numerical responses of predators because of the wide range in prey density that occurs. I reinterpret data from six studies that have examined the role of predation in the population dynamics of voles in California, southern Sweden and western Finland, of snowshoe hares in northern Canada, and of house mice and rabbits in Australia. Most studies have measured functional responses by relying on changes in diet as reflected by scat or stomach contents. These methods are probably biased toward showing predator satiation. Contrary to previous conclusions I find that there is little evidence for non-linear (Type 111) functional-response curves or predator satiation at high prey densities. Recent studies indicate that the functional and numerical responses of predators can be rapid and strong enough to initiate cyclic declines, dampen fluctuations, or even cause stable numbers. The exception to this appears to be the irruptions of mice and rabbits in Australia. I propose a general explanation for the role of predation whereby the effect of predation is largely dependent on the entire prey community. When potentially cyclic prey are a small component of the overall prey biomass, generalist predators are able to prevent fluctuations by strong functional or numerical responses. As the prey community becomes dominated by a few species that fluctuate, limit cycles predominate. Limit cycles turn into irruptive population dynamics when seasonal prey reproduction is eliminated because of extended periods of vegetation growth (vegetation flushes following drought). In the future we must test assumptions underlying the way we study predation by telemetric monitoring of prey mortality and by experimentally manipulating predation.

The role of dispersal in the population dynamics of snowshoe hares

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan Boutin ◽  
B. S. Gilbert ◽  
Charles J. Krebs ◽  
A. R. E. Sinclair ◽  
J. N. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Lepus Americanus ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Dispersal Rate ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Control Grid ◽  
Snowshoe Hares ◽  
Kluane Lake

We monitored dispersal of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) at Kluane Lake, Yukon, during a population increase, peak, and decline. Dispersal was measured by recording the number of immigrants to a removal grid and by tracking radiocollared individuals. The observed decline was not due to dispersal, as a maximum of 28% of all losses of radiocollared animals was due to dispersal. Dispersal rate (as measured by number of immigrants to the removal grid per individual on the control grid) was negatively correlated (−0.51, P < 0.01) with the rate of population increase. Highest dispersal rates occurred in the winters when hare populations were at peak and early decline densities. Dispersers at this time were lighter in weight than residents. We discuss our results in light of current hypotheses attempting to explain dispersal in cyclic small mammals and conclude that our results are consistent with the hypothesis that food shortage is responsible for increased rates of dispersal at peak population densities Comparison of dispersal, as monitored by radiotelemetry, versus immigration to a removal grid, suggests that removal grids overestimate dispersal, particularly at high densities when removal grids may attract animals because food supplies are relatively favorable there.

THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF IPS GRANDICOLLIS (EICHHOFF) (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) IN JAMAICA

1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Garraway ◽  
B.E. Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Ips Grandicollis ◽  
Potential Pest ◽  
Population Numbers

AbstractIps grandicollis (Eichhoff) was first recorded from Jamaica in 1978 and has become a potential pest in Pinus plantations in the island. Its distribution there is determined by the occurrence of suitable food, but not by altitude or rainfall. Developmental mortality due to predators, parasites, and resin did not limit population numbers within logs: control resulted ultimately from competition among egg-laying females and among larvae for space in suitable logs. However, when the entire Jamaican population was considered, dispersive loss of adults played a major part in the limitation of numbers. A cyclic budget revealed that a minimum of 44% of the population was lost during dispersal. Dispersive loss in the males (77.3%) was higher than that in the females (35.4%), and this difference may be related to the primary role of the males in finding suitable logs.

Ecological and geographical criteria of species in Quaternary mammals on the example of ground squirrels of the subgenus Colobotis (Sciuridae, Rodentia)

2021 ◽  
pp. 180-195
Author(s):  
Liliia Popova ◽  
Leonid Rekovets
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Left Bank ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Resistant Species ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Right

Pleistocene small mammals demonstrate two main types of response to climatic changes: elastic (significant changes of species ranges) and resistant (stable ranges). Extinct ground squirrels of the subgenus Соlobotis belonged to climate-resistant species and formed morphologically distinct subspecies. The dispersal of the Middle Pleistocene Spermophilus (Сolobotis) superciliosus both on the left and right bank of the Dnipro corresponds to the absence of any isolating effect of the river under conditions of tectonic stability. In the Late Pleistocene, under the dominance of tectonic uplift and increasing isolating role of rivers, several subspecies were formed: S. superciliosus palaeodesnensis and S. superciliosus fulvoides on the left bank and another form on the right bank that was morphologically similar to S. major. The major-like form disappeared in the Holocene being replaced by S. s. fulvoides, which came from the Left-Bank Dnipro area.

scholarly journals Do males matter? The role of males in population dynamics

Oikos ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Rankin ◽  
Hanna Kokko
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics

scholarly journals The role of habitat configuration in shaping animal population processes: a framework to generate quantitative predictions

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng He ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Montiglio ◽  
Marius Somveille ◽  
Mauricio Cantor ◽  
Damien R. Farine
Keyword(s):  
Population Level ◽  
R Package ◽  
Habitat Configuration ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Alternative Habitat ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Habitat Networks ◽  
Animal Habitat

AbstractBy shaping where individuals move, habitat configuration can fundamentally structure animal populations. Yet, we currently lack a framework for generating quantitative predictions about the role of habitat configuration in modulating population outcomes. To address this gap, we propose a modelling framework inspired by studies using networks to characterize habitat connectivity. We first define animal habitat networks, explain how they can integrate information about the different configurational features of animal habitats, and highlight the need for a bottom–up generative model that can depict realistic variations in habitat potential connectivity. Second, we describe a model for simulating animal habitat networks (available in the R package AnimalHabitatNetwork), and demonstrate its ability to generate alternative habitat configurations based on empirical data, which forms the basis for exploring the consequences of alternative habitat structures. Finally, we lay out three key research questions and demonstrate how our framework can address them. By simulating the spread of a pathogen within a population, we show how transmission properties can be impacted by both local potential connectivity and landscape-level characteristics of habitats. Our study highlights the importance of considering the underlying habitat configuration in studies linking social structure with population-level outcomes.

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