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Reproduction of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau

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Abstract

The reproduction of the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) was investigated in Guoluo District at an elevation of 4,000 m on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau, China, from April 2007 to August 2008. Reproduction was seasonal, and the breeding season lasted from April to late June/early July. Adults produced two litters in each year, and the mean litter size, estimated by counting the number of embryos in utero, was 3.3 ± 0.1 (n = 52) in 2007 and 3.2 ± 0.1 (n = 66) in 2008. The timing of reproduction showed high inter-annual variation; lower precipitation and the concomitant delay in spring vegetation phenology may have retarded the onset of the breeding season in 2007 compared with 2008. The most frequent litter sizes were 3 and 4, which together comprised 71.2% and 83.3% of litters in May and June of 2007 and 2008, respectively. Compared with previous studies, reproduction was highly variable between geographic areas. Pikas produced between one and five litters per year in different regions of the plateau over different breeding seasons. This geographic and inter-annual variation appeared to be associated with the duration of plant growth at each site, suggesting that plateau pikas adjust the length of their breeding season to match the period when sufficient energy is available to support the high energy demands of reproduction.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Key Innovation Research Programs of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. KSCX2-YW-N-06, KSCX2-YW-N-90) and grants from the “973” Project of China Ministry of Science and Technology (no. 2007CB109105). We thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments. We thank Zhibin Zhang and John R. Speakman for comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. This study could not have been completed without the friendly help of local people in Guoluo. Our experiments complied with the laws of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 23 Xin’ning Road, Xining, Qinghai, 810008, China

    Jiapeng Qu, Min Yang & Yanming Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Ming Liu

  3. Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Auckland Campus, Private Bag 102 904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, New Zealand

    Weihong Ji

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  1. Jiapeng Qu
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  2. Ming Liu
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  3. Min Yang
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  4. Yanming Zhang
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  5. Weihong Ji
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Correspondence to Yanming Zhang.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Qu, J., Liu, M., Yang, M. et al. Reproduction of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 269–277 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0574-2

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