Reproductive characteristics of the Yangtze vole (Microtus fortis calamorum) under laboratory feeding conditions
| Autor: | Bo Li, Xunjun Zhou, Cong Guo, Meiwen Zhang, Qunhua Han, Guo Shen, Yong Wang |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Litter (animal) Male Litter Size media_common.quotation_subject Population 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Endocrinology Animal science Food Animals Pregnancy Weaning Animals 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology education media_common education.field_of_study biology Behavior Animal Arvicolinae Reproduction 05 social sciences General Medicine biology.organism_classification Breed Microtus fortis Animal Science and Zoology Vole Female |
| Zdroj: | Animal reproduction science. 164 |
| ISSN: | 1873-2232 |
| Popis: | The reproductive characteristics of a laboratory population of the vole Microtus fortis calamorum were examined. Voles were allowed to breed under laboratory feeding conditions. Over a period of 3 months, 61.82% of the 110 vole pairs examined produced 3 or 4 litters. There were 1-9 voles in each litter and the mean litter size was 4.67±0.28 (mean±SE). Most litters included 3-7 young voles, accounting for 83.62% of all litters. The mean farrowing interval was 25.9 days (range from 19 to 95 days), and the most farrowing intervals were 20-25 days, accounting for 79.9% of the total. When based on litter size, the reproductive index was 6.23, but was 3.42 when based on pup survival. The survival rate of offspring to weaning was 55.03%. The high rate of infanticide that occurred after removal of males from cages indicates that, in the laboratory, both parents need to be present prior to weaning. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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