Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Demographic strategies in fluctuating populations of small rodents

  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

A graphic model for individual selection determined by the logarithmic growth rates, dN i /N i ·dt, is developed for studying optimal demographic strategies at different phases of microtine cycles. In a density-independent situation (no crowding) selection leads to maximization of total life-time reproductive output (or equivalently, the Malthusian parameter, m) at the expense of competitive (contest type) abilities. In a density-dependent situation (crowding), selection leads to maximization of contest type competitive abilities at the expense of reproductive output. These two modes of selective pressure are called r- and α-selection. r-selection is presumed to occur during the increase phase of a cycle. As the habitat becomes crowded, α-selection takes over and is assumed to be extreme at high densities.

The characteristics of r- and α-strategists are found to be similar to those of the docile and aggressive forms presumed in Chitty's theory for fluctuating populations. Literature supports the attributes predicted by the theory. I argue that sensitivity to density-independent factors is higher in the α-strategy. On the basis of a graphic model, I show that the α-strategists' high sensitivity to extrinsic factors will account for the crash in microtine cycles.

On the basis of these theoretical considerations, Chitty's theory for fluctuating populations is interpreted to imply that interactions between intrinsic and extrinsic (random) factors will result in cycles. A graphic model for this interpretation of Chitty's theory is discussed. The heterogeneity of the habitat is an important aspect.

According to theory, dispersal of pregnant females is explained as an adaptation leading to increased current reproductive output. This behaviour is presumed to dominate numerically during the increase phase of a cycle, a prediction supported in literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, C.E.: Aging and reproduction. In: Reproduction in mammals (book 4), Reproductive patterns (C.R. Austin, R.V. Short, eds.), pp. 128–156. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1972

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, S., Jones, J.K., Jr. (eds.): Recent mammals of the world. New York: Ronald Press 1967

    Google Scholar 

  • Batzli, G.O.: The role of mammals in arctic ecosystems. In: Small mammals: their productivity and population dynamics (F.B. Golley, K. Petrusewicz, L. Ryszkowski, eds.), pp. 243–268. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1975

    Google Scholar 

  • Batzli, G.O.: Populations and energetics of small mammals in tundra ecosystems. In: Tundra: comparative analysis of ecosystems (J.J. Moore, ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1977 (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Batzli, G.O., Pitelka, F.A.: Condition and diet of cycling populations of the California vole, Microtus californicus. J. Mammal. 52, 141–163 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Birney, E.C., Grant, W.E., Baird, D.D.: Importance of vegetative cover to cycles of Microtus. Ecology 57, 1043–1051 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Burt, W.H.: A field guide to the mammals. Boston: Houghton Mifflin 1964

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Mortality among voles (Microtus agrestis) at Lake Vyrnwy, Montgomeryshire in 1936–1939. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Ser. B 236, 505–552 (1952)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Tuberculosis among wild voles: with a discussion of other pathological conditions among certain mammals and birds. Ecology 35, 227–237 (1954)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Self-regulation of numbers through changes in viability. Cold Spring Harbour Symp. Quant. Biol. 22, 277–280 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Population processes in the vole and their relevance to general theory. Canad. J. Zool. 38, 99–113 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Predicting qualitative changes in insect populations. Proc. XIII Int. Cong. Ent. Lond. 1964, 385–386 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: The natural selection of self-regulatory behaviour in animal populations. Proc. Ecol. Soc. Aust. 2, 51–78 (1967a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: What regulates bird populations? Ecology 48, 698–701 (1967b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Regulatory effects of a random variable. Am. Zool. 9, 400 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D.: Variation and population density. Symp. Zool. Soc. London 26, 327–334 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D., Chitty, H.: Populations trends among the voles at Lake Vyrnwy. Symp. Theriol., Brno, 1960, 67–76 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chitty, D., Phipps, E.: Seasonal changes in survival in mixed populations of two species of vole. J. Anim. Ecol. 35, 313–331 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, J.R.: Long and short term changes in gonadal activity of voles and bank voles. Oikos 29, 457–467 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, D.: Optimization of seasonal migratory behavior. Am. Nat. 101, 1–17 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Conley, W.: Competition between Microtus: a behavioral hypothesis. Ecology 57, 224–237 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Curry-Lindahl, K.: The irruption of the Norway lemming in Sweden during 1960. J. Mammal. 43, 171–184 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  • DeFries, J.C., McClearn, G.E.: Social dominance and Darwinian fitness in the laboratory mouse. Am. Nat. 104, 408–411 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich, P.R., Birch, L.C.: The “balance of nature” and “population control”. Am. Nat. 101, 97–107 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Elton, C.S.: Periodic fluctuations in the numbers of animals: their causes and effects. Br. J. Exptl. Biol. 2, 119–163 (1924)

    Google Scholar 

  • Elton, C.S.: The ecology of invasion by animals and plants. London: Methuen 1958

    Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, J.M.: Ecology: an evolutionary approach. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley 1973

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagen, R.M.: An optimal life-history strategy in which reproductive effort decreases with age. Am. Nat. 106, 258–261 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, R.A.: The genetical theory of natural selection, 2nd ed. New York: Dover 1958

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, F.: The causality of microtine cycles in Germany. J. Wildl. Mgmt 21, 113–121 (1957)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, W.A.: Changes in numbers of three species of small rodents near Great Slave Lake, N.W.T., Canada, 1964–1967, and their significance for general population theory. Ann. Zool. Fennici 6, 113–144 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, W.A.: Demography of subarctic populations of Clethrionomys gapperi: size and growth. Canad. J. Zool. 55, 415–425 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, W.A., Martell, A.M., Smith, R.F.C., Speller, S.W.: High-arctic lemmings, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus. II. Demography. Canad. J. Zool. 53, 867–878 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M.: Dispersal: population consequences and evolution. Ecology 52, 253–261 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M., Bossert, W.H.: Life historical consequences of natural selection. Am. Nat. 104, 1–24 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M., Solbrig, O.T.: The concept of r and K selection: evidence from wild flowers and some theoretical considerations. Am. Nat. 106, 12–31 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Garten, C.T., Jr.: Relationships between aggressive behavior and genetic heterozygosity in the oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus. Evolution 30, 59–72 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Garten, C.T., Jr., Smith, M.H.: Movement by oldfield mice and population regulation. Acta Theriol. 19, 513–514 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, D.E.: Intrinsic rate of increase, saturation density, and competitive ability. II. The evolution of competitive ability. Am. Nat. 108, 103–116 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey, G.K.: Observations on the nature of the decline in numbers of two Microtus populations. J. Mammal. 36, 209–214 (1955)

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, P.R.: Experimental studies of competitive interaction in a two-species system: II. the behaviour of Microtus, Peromyscus and Clethrionomys species. Anim. Behav. 18, 411–426 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, G.S.: Reproduction in a coastal California population of the field mouse, Microtus californicus. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 54, 421–446 (1957)

    Google Scholar 

  • Grodziński, W., Wunder, B.A.: Ecological energetics of small mammals. In: Small mammals: their productivity and population dynamics (F.B. Golley, K. Petrusewicz, L. Ryszkowski, eds.), pp. 173–204. New York: Cambridge University Press 1975

    Google Scholar 

  • Hairston, N.G., Smith, E., Slobodkin, L.B.: Community structure, population control and competition. Am. Nat. 94, 421–425 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L.: Habitat, food and population dynamics of the field vole, Microtus agrestis in South Sweden. Viltrevy 8, 267–378 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansson, L., Löfquist, J., Nilsson, A.: Population fluctuations in insectivores and small rodents in northernmost Fennoscandia. Manuscript (1977)

  • Hershkowitz, P.: The evolution of neotropical cricetine rodents. Fieldiana Zool. 46, 1–524 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, R.S.: The role of reproduction and mortality in population fluctuations of voles (Microtus). Ecol. Monogr. 28, 79–109 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, R.S.: Terrestrial vertebrates. In: Arctic and alpine environments (J.D. Ives, R.G. Barry, eds.), pp. 475–568. London: Methuen 1974

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn, H.S.: Regulation of animal numbers: a model counter-example. Ecology 49, 776–778 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn, H.S.: Succession. In: Theoretical ecology (R.M. May, ed.), pp. 187–204. London: Blackwell 1976

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn, H.S., MacArthur, R.H.: Competition among fugitive species in a harlequine environment. Ecology 53, 749–752 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson, G.E.: Homage to Santa Rosalia, or why are there so many kinds of animals? Am. Nat. 93, 45–159 (1959)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalela, O.: Regulation of reproduction rate in subarctic populations of the vole Clethrionomys rufocanus (Sund). Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn. Ser. A (IV) 34, 1–60 (1957)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalela, O.: On the fluctuations in the numbers of arctic and boreal small rodents as a problem of production biology. Ann. Acad. Sci. Fenn. A (IV) 66, 1–38 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, B.L., Krebs, C.J.: Microtus population biology. III. Reproductive changes in fluctuating populations of M. ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus in southern Indiana, 1965–1967. Ecol. Monogr. 40, 263–294 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kikkawa, J.: Movement-activity and distribution of the small rodents Clethrionomys glareolus and Apodemus sylvaticus in woodland. J. Anim. Ecol. 33, 259–299 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • King, J.A.: The ecology of aggressive behaviour. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4, 117–138 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J.: The lemming cycle at Baker Lake, Northwest Territories, during 1959–1962. Arctic Inst. N. Amer. Tech. Paper 15, 1–104 (1964a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J.: Cyclic variation in skull-body regression of lemmings. Canad. J. Zool. 42, 631–643 (1964b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J.: Demographic changes in fluctuating populations of Microtus califonicus. Ecol. Monogr. 36, 239–273 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J., Gaines, M.S., Keller, B.L., Myers, J.H., Tamarin, R.H.: Population cycles in small rodents. Science 179, 34–41 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J., Keller, B.C., Tamarin, R.H.: Microtus population biology: demographic changes in fluctuating populations of M. ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus in southern Indiana. Ecology 50, 587–607 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J., Myers, J.H.: Population cycles in small mammals. Adv. Ecol. Res. 8, 267–399 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs, C.J., Wingate, I., LeDuc, J., Redfield, J.A., Taitt, M., Hilborn, R.: Microtus population biology: dispersal in fluctuating populations of M. townsendii. Canad. J. Zool. 54, 79–95 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lack, D.: Population studies of birds. London: Methuen 1966

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsson, T.-B., Hansson, L.: Sampling and dynamics of small rodents under snow cover in north Sweden. Manuscript (1976)

  • Larsson, T.-B., Hansson, L., Nyholm, E.: Winter reproduction in small rodents in Sweden. Oikos 24, 475–476 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Leon, J.A.: Life histories as adaptive strategies. J. Theoret. Biol. 60, 301–335 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R.: Evolution in changing environments. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R.: Some demographic and genetic consequences of environmental heterogeneity for biological control. Bull. Entomol. Soc. Am. 15, 237–240 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R.: Extinction. In: Some mathematical questions in biology (M. Gerstenhaver, ed.), pp. 75–108. Providence, R.I.: Am. Math. Soc. 1970

    Google Scholar 

  • Levins, R., Culver, D.: Regional coexistence of species and competition between rare species. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 68, 1246–1248 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewontin, R.C.: Selection for colonizing ability. In: The genetics of colonizing species (H.G. Baker, G.L. Stebbins, eds.), pp. 77–91. New York: Academic Press 1965

    Google Scholar 

  • Lidicker, W.Z., Jr.: Regulation of numbers in an island population of the California vole, a problem in community dynamics. Ecol. Monogr. 42, 271–302 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lidicker, W.Z., Jr.: The role of dispersal in the demography of small mammals. In: Small mammals: their productivity and population dynamics (F.B. Golley, K. Petrusewicz, L. Ryszkowski, eds.), pp. 103–128. New York: Cambridge University Press 1975

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R.H.: Geographical ecology: patterns in the distribution of species. New York: Harper and Row 1972a

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R.H.: Coexistence of species. In: Challenging biological problems (J.A. Behnke, ed.), pp. 253–259. New York: Oxford University Press 1972b

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R.H., Wilson, E.O.: The theory of island biogeography. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1967

    Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, S.F., Jr., Fitzgerald, B.M., Pitelka, F.A.: Population cycles in arctic lemmings: winter reproduction and predation by weasels. Arctic and Alpine Res. 6, 1–12 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcström, V.: On the reproduction of the Norwegian lemming, Lemmus lemmus L. Viltrevy 4, 311–342 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayr, E.: Animal species and evolution. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press 1963

    Google Scholar 

  • Mertz, D.B.: Life history phenomena in increasing and decreasing populations. In: Statistical ecology, Vol. 2 (G.P. Patil, E.C. Pielou, W.E. Waters, eds.), pp. 362–392. University Park: The Pennsylvania State Univ. Press 1971

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, R.S.: Pattern and process in competition. Adv. Ecol. Res. 4, 1–74 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, D.A.: Physiologic correlations with population density and other environmental factors in the brown lemming, Lemmus trimucronatus. Ph.D. thesis, Berkeley, University of California (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, D.A.: Reproduction in brown lemmings (Lemmus trimucronatus) and its relevance to their cycle of abundance. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 85, 1–24 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch, W.W.: “Community structure, population control and competition” — a critique. Am. Nat. 100, 219–226 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Myllymäki, A.: Social mechanisms in the population ecology and population control of microtine rodents. In: Biocontrol of rodents (L. Hansson, B. Nilsson, eds.). Ecol. Bull. 19, 241–254 (1975)

  • Myllymäki, A.: Demographic mechanisms in the fluctuating populations of the field vole Microtus arrestis. Oikos 29, 468–493 (1977a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Myllymäki, A.: Intraspecific competition and home range dynamics in the field vole Microtus agrestis. Oikos 29, 553–569 (1977b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Myllymäki, A., Christiansen, E., Hansson, L.: Experience from a five-year all-Scandinavian surveillance of small mammal abundance. EPPO Bull. 7 (1977, in press)

  • Myrberget, S.: The weather as a synchronizing factor for variations in the populations of small rodents. Papers Norw. State Game Res. Inst. 2 (42), 1–16 (1974) [in Norwegian with English summary]

    Google Scholar 

  • Mysterud, I., Viitala, J., Lathi, S.: On winter breeding of the wood lemming (Myopus schisticolor). Norw. J. Zool. 20, 91–92 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson, A.J.: The balance of animal populations. J. Anim. Ecol. Suppl. 2, 132–178 (1933)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson, A.J.: An outline of the dynamics of animal populations. Aust. J. Zool. 2, 9–65 (1954)

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, E.P.: The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 164, 262–270 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, E.P.: Fundamentals of ecology, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders 1971

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, O.P.: Carnivore-mouse predation: an example of its intensity and bio-energetics. J. Mammal. 45, 177–188 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, O.P.: The prey of carnivores during one cycle of mouse abundance. J. Anim. Ecol. 35, 217–233 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, O.P.: Additional measurements of the impact of carnivores on California voles (Microtus californicus). J. Mammal. 52, 41–49 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianka, E.R.: On r and K selection. Am. Nat. 104, 592–597 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianka, E.R.: r and K selection or b and d selection? Am. Nat. 106, 581–588 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pianka, E.R., Parker, W.S.: Age-specific reproductive tactics. Am. Nat. 109, 453–464 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitelka, F.A.: Cyclic pattern in lemming populations near Barrow, Alaska. In: Alaskan arctic tundra (M.E. Britton, ed.), pp. 199–215. Arctic Inst. N. Amer. Tech. Paper 25 (1973)

  • Reichstein, H.: Untersuchungen zum Körperwachstum und zum Reproduktionspotential der Feldmaus, Microtus arvalis (Pallas, 1979). Z. Wiss. Zool. 170, 112–222 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roff, D.A.: Spatial heterogeneity and the persistence of populations. Oecologia (Berl.) 15, 245–258 (1974a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roff, D.A.: The analysis of a population model demonstrating the importance of dispersal in a heterogeneous environment. Oecologia (Berl.) 15, 259–275 (1974b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roff, D.A.: Population stability and the evolution of dispersal in heterogeneous environments. Oecologia (Berl.) 19, 217–237 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, R.K., Gaines, M.S.: Levels of aggression in fluctuating populations of the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, in eastern Kansas. J. Mammal. 57, 43–57 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryszkowski, L., Goszcynski, J., Truszkowski, J.: Trophic relationships of the common vole in cultivated fields. Acta Theriol. 18, 125–165 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadleir, R.M.F.S.: The ecology of reproduction in wild and domestic mammals. London: Methuen 1969

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, W.M.: Selection for optimal life histories: the effects of age structure. Ecology 35, 291–303 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, W.M., Tamarin, R.H.: Changing reproductive rates and population cycles in lemmings and voles. Evolution 27, 111–124 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoener, T.W.: Sizes of feeding territories among birds. Ecology 49, 123–141 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelford, V.E.: The abundance of the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus (Tr.) var. richardsoni Mer.) in the Churchill area, 1929 to 1940. Ecology 24, 472–484 (1943)

    Google Scholar 

  • Skellam, J.G.: Random dispersal in theoretical populations. Biometrika 38, 196–218 (1951)

    Google Scholar 

  • Skellam, J.G.: The formulation and interpretation of mathematical models of diffusionary processes in population biology. In: The mathematical theory of the dynamics of biological populations (M.S. Bartlett, R.W. Hiorns, eds.), pp. 63–85. New York: Academic Press 1973

    Google Scholar 

  • Slatkin, M.: Competition and regional coexistence. Ecology 55, 128–134 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, G.H.W.: Materialien zur Kenntnis der Feldmaus, Microtus arvalis. P.z. Säugetierk. 22, 117–135 (1957)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C.: On Chitty's theory for fluctuating populations: the importance of genetic polymorphism in generating regular cycles. Submitted for publication (1977)

  • Stenseth, N.C.: Energy balance and the Malthusian parameter, m, of grazing small rodents. A graphic model. Oecologia (Berl.) 32, 37–55 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth, N.C., Hansson, L., Myllymäki, A., Andersson, M., Katila, J.: General models for the population dynamics of the field vole Microtus agrestis in Central Scandinavia. Oikos 29, 616–642 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoddart, D.M.: Individual range, dispersion and dispersal in a population of water voles (Arvicola terrestris (L.)). 39, 403–425 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, G.M., Hamilton, W.J.: The mammals of Southampton Island. Mem. Carneg. Mus. 12, (Pt. 2), 1–111 (1932)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka, R.: Population dynamics of the Smith's red-backed vole in highlands of Shikoku. Res. Pop. Ecol. 6, 54–66 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tast, J.: The root vole, Microtus oeconomus (Pallas), as an inhabitant of seasonally flooded land. Ann. Zool. Fennici 3, 127–171 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, H.M., Gourley, R.S., Lawrence, C.E., Kaplan, R.S.: Natural selection of life history attributes: an analytical approach. Theoret. Pop. Biol. 5, 104–122 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, D.Q.: The ecology and population dynamics of the brown lemming (Lemmus trimucronatus) at Point Barrow, Alaska. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Missouri (1955)

  • Thompson, W.L.: Agonistic behaviour in the house finch: 2, factors in aggressiveness and sociality. Condor 62, 378–402 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivers, R.L.: Parental investment and sexual selection. In: Sexual selection and the descent of man (B. Campbell, ed.), pp. 136–179. London: Heinemann 1972

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, B.N., Iverson, S.L.: The annual cycle of aggression in male Microtus pennsylvanicus, and its relation to population parameters. Ecology 53, 967–981 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Watt, K.E.F.: Ecology and resource management. New York: McGraw Hill 1968

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, W.L.: Small mammal populations on islands. Ecology 46, 479–488 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker, R.H.: Communities and ecosystems, 2nd ed. New York: MacMillan 1975

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitney, P.H.: Population biology and energetics of three species of small mammals in the taiga of interior Alaska. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Alaska, Fairbanks (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitney, P.H.: Population ecology of two sympatric species of subarctic microtine rodents. Ecol. Monogr. 46, 85–104 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wildhagen, A.: Om vekslingene i bestanden av smågnagere i Norge 1874–1949. Statens viltunders, pp. 1–192 (1952)

  • Williams, G.C.: Adaptation and natural selection. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1966a

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, G.C.: Natural selection, the cost of reproduction and a refinement of Lack's principle. Am. Nat. 100, 687–690 (1966b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, E.O.: Competitive and aggressive behavior. In: Man and beast; comparative social behavior (J.F. Eisenberg, W. Dillon, eds.), pp. 181–217. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institute Press 1971

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, E.O.: Sociobiology. The new synthesis. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 1975

    Google Scholar 

  • Zejda, J.: Development of several populations of the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus Schreb., in a peak year. Zool. Listy 13, 15–30 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zejda, J.: Mortality of a population of Clethrionomys glareolus Schreb. in a bottomland forest in 1964. Zool. Listy 16, 221–238 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann, K.: Körpergröße und Bestandsdichte bei Feldmäusen (Microtus arvalis). Z. Säugetierk. 20, 114–118 (1955)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, University of Oslo, Blindern, P.O. Box 1050, Oslo 3, Norway

    Nils Chr. Stenseth

Authors
  1. Nils Chr. Stenseth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stenseth, N.C. Demographic strategies in fluctuating populations of small rodents. Oecologia 33, 149–172 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344845

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344845

Keywords

Search

Navigation