Skip to main content
Log in

Effect of the life history pattern on bioenergetic parameters of northern red-backed voles (Myodes rutilus Pall.) in a mountain taiga population from the south of Western Siberia

  • Published:
Russian Journal of Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To test the hypothesis of relationship between the age at maturity, metabolic rate, and life span of rodents, variation in bioenergetic parameters in northern red-backed voles (Myodes rutilus) was analyzed depending on their reproductive status and type of ontogeny. Standard metabolic rate was found to be significantly lower in young of the year that remained nonreproductive in the year of birth than in reproductive young of the year and overwintered voles. Maximal metabolic rate and the ability to maintain temperature homeostasis under cold exposure were independent of reproductive status and life history pattern but varied depending on phases of the population cycle, increasing in years with low animal abundance.

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

Access this article

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bashenina, N.V., Adaptivnye osobennosti teploobmena myshevidnykh gryzunov (Adaptive Features of Heat Exchange in Murine Rodents), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christian, J.J., Endocrine factors in population regulation, in Biosocial Mechanisms of Population Regulation, Cohen, M.N., Malpass, R.S., and Klein, H.G., Eds., New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press, 1980, pp. 55–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J.L. and Thompson, S.D., Energy allocation in mammalian reproduction, Am. Zool., 1988, vol. 28, pp. 863–875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harman, D., Aging: A theory based on free radical and radiation chemistry, J. Gerontol., 1956, vol. 11, pp. 298–300.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleiber, M., The Fire of Life, New York, 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koshkina, T.V., Comparative ecology of bank voles in the northern taiga subzone, in Fauna i ekologiya gryzunov (The Fauna and Ecology of Rodents), Moscow, 1957, vol. 5, pp. 3–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moshkin, M.P., Dobrotvorsky, A.K., Mak, V.V., et al., Variability of immune response to heterologous erythrocytes during population cycles of red (Clethrionomys rutilus) and bank (C. glareolus) voles, Oikos, 1998, vol. 82, nos. 3–4, pp. 131–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moshkin, M., Novikov, E.A., Kolosova, I.E., et al., Adrenocortical and bioenergetic responses to cold in five species of murine rodents, J. Mammal., 2002, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 458–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novikov, E.A. and Moshkin, M.P., Sexual maturation, adrenocortical function and population density of redbacked vole (Clethrionomys rutilus Pall.), Mammalia, 1998, vol. 62, pp. 529–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novikov, E.A., Krivopalov, A.V., and Moshkin, M.P., Helminth infection prevalence, metabolic rate, and cold resistance in red-backed voles from a natural population, Parazitologiya, 2005, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 155–165.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Novikov, E.A., Mak, V.V., Panov, V.V., and Moshkin, M.P., Humoral immune response to nonreplicable antigens and prevalence of infestation by taiga ticks (Ixodes persulcatus, Acarina, Ixodidae) in red-backed voles (Clethrionomys rutilus, Rodentia, Cricetidae), Zool. Zh., 2010, vol. 89, no. 1, pp. 106–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novikov, E.A., Panov, V.V., and Moshkin, M.P., Densitydependent mechanisms of population regulation in the redbacked vole (Myodes rutilus) in optimal and suboptimal habitats in the south of Western Siberia, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2012, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 48–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olenev, G.V., Alternative types of ontogeny in cyclomorphic rodents and their role in population dynamics: An ecological analysis, Russ. J. Ecol., 2002, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 321–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olenev, G.V., Determining the age of cyclomorphic rodents: Functional–ontogenetic determination, ecological aspects, Russ. J. Ecol., 2009, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 93–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Packard, G.C. and Boardman, T.J., The use of percentages and size-specific indices to normalize physiological data for variation in body size: Wasted time, wasted effort?, Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A: Mol. Integr. Physiol., 1999, vol. 122, no. 1, pp. 37–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearl, R., The Rate of Living, London: Univ. of London Press, 1928.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenmann, M. and Morrison, P., Maximum oxygen consumption and heat loss facilitation in small homeotherms by He–O2, Am. J. Physiol., 1974, vol. 226, pp. 490–495.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shilov, I.A., Praktikum po ekologii nazemnykh pozvonochnykh zhivotnykh (A Practical Course in the Ecology of Terrestrial Vertebrates), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinlechner, S. and Puchalski, W., Seasonal regulation of breeding in small mammals, Sib. Ekol. Zh., 1999, vol. 1, no. 23, p. 35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shvarts, S.S., Ishchenko, V.G., Ovchinnikova, N.A., et al., Alternation of generations and life span in rodents, Zh. Obshch. Biol., 1964, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 417–433.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stearns, S.C., The Evolution of Life Histories, Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. A. Novikov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © E.A. Novikov, E.Yu. Kondratyuk, D.V. Petrovskii, 2015, published in Ekologiya, 2015, No. 5, pp. 387–391.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Novikov, E.A., Kondratyuk, E.Y. & Petrovskii, D.V. Effect of the life history pattern on bioenergetic parameters of northern red-backed voles (Myodes rutilus Pall.) in a mountain taiga population from the south of Western Siberia. Russ J Ecol 46, 476–480 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106741361505015X

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S106741361505015X

Keywords

Navigation