The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore
Background: Cyclic rodent population dynamics are subjected to both intrinsic regulatory processes such as density-dependence and extrinsic environmental forcing. Among extrinsic factors, seasonal environmental variation is understood to facilitate cycles. In rodents, these processes have been studi...
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ftinraparis:oai:prodinra.inra.fr:278965 2023-05-15T15:56:30+02:00 The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore Gauffre, Bertrand Bretagnolle, Vincent Pinot, Adrien 2014 application/pdf http://prodinra.inra.fr/ft/8D0B4C95-7283-4EED-B9E1-B140B27D1D9D http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/278965 https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-14-17 eng eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/ CC-BY-ND-NC BMC Ecology (14), . (2014) Seasonality;Population cycles;Common vole;Density-dependence;Fecundity saisonnalité cycle de population densité dépendance fécondite microtus arvalis ARTICLE 2014 ftinraparis https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-14-17 2015-10-30T07:20:07Z Background: Cyclic rodent population dynamics are subjected to both intrinsic regulatory processes such as density-dependence and extrinsic environmental forcing. Among extrinsic factors, seasonal environmental variation is understood to facilitate cycles. In rodents, these processes have been studied mostly independently and their relative importance for population dynamics is poorly known. [br/] Results: We performed a detailed analysis of common vole (Microtus arvalis) reproduction in a cyclic population using a spatially extensive data set over 17 years in central-western France. Environmental seasonality was the main source of explained variation in common vole reproduction. Additionally, inter-annual variation in the environment explained a smaller part of the variance in reproduction in spring and summer than in winter, whereas the effect of density was only found in autumn and winter. In particular, we detected a strong impact of plant productivity on fecundity during the breeding season, with low vegetation productivity being able to bring vole reproduction nearly to a halt. In contrast, vole reproduction during autumn and winter was mainly shaped by intrinsic factors, with only the longer and heavier females being able to reproduce. The effect of population density on reproduction was negative, mediated by direct negative effects on the proportion of breeders in autumn and winter during outbreak years and by a delayed negative effect on litter size the following year. [br/] Conclusions: During the main breeding season, variability of female vole reproduction is predominantly shaped by food resources, suggesting that only highly productive environment may induce vole outbreaks. During fall and winter, variability of female vole reproduction is mainly controlled by intrinsic factors, with high population density suppressing reproduction. This suggests, in this cyclic population, that negative direct density dependence on reproduction could explain winter declines after outbreaks. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common vole Microtus arvalis Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA BMC Ecology 14 1 17 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA |
op_collection_id |
ftinraparis |
language |
English |
topic |
Seasonality;Population cycles;Common vole;Density-dependence;Fecundity saisonnalité cycle de population densité dépendance fécondite microtus arvalis |
spellingShingle |
Seasonality;Population cycles;Common vole;Density-dependence;Fecundity saisonnalité cycle de population densité dépendance fécondite microtus arvalis Gauffre, Bertrand Bretagnolle, Vincent The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
topic_facet |
Seasonality;Population cycles;Common vole;Density-dependence;Fecundity saisonnalité cycle de population densité dépendance fécondite microtus arvalis |
description |
Background: Cyclic rodent population dynamics are subjected to both intrinsic regulatory processes such as density-dependence and extrinsic environmental forcing. Among extrinsic factors, seasonal environmental variation is understood to facilitate cycles. In rodents, these processes have been studied mostly independently and their relative importance for population dynamics is poorly known. [br/] Results: We performed a detailed analysis of common vole (Microtus arvalis) reproduction in a cyclic population using a spatially extensive data set over 17 years in central-western France. Environmental seasonality was the main source of explained variation in common vole reproduction. Additionally, inter-annual variation in the environment explained a smaller part of the variance in reproduction in spring and summer than in winter, whereas the effect of density was only found in autumn and winter. In particular, we detected a strong impact of plant productivity on fecundity during the breeding season, with low vegetation productivity being able to bring vole reproduction nearly to a halt. In contrast, vole reproduction during autumn and winter was mainly shaped by intrinsic factors, with only the longer and heavier females being able to reproduce. The effect of population density on reproduction was negative, mediated by direct negative effects on the proportion of breeders in autumn and winter during outbreak years and by a delayed negative effect on litter size the following year. [br/] Conclusions: During the main breeding season, variability of female vole reproduction is predominantly shaped by food resources, suggesting that only highly productive environment may induce vole outbreaks. During fall and winter, variability of female vole reproduction is mainly controlled by intrinsic factors, with high population density suppressing reproduction. This suggests, in this cyclic population, that negative direct density dependence on reproduction could explain winter declines after outbreaks. |
author2 |
Pinot, Adrien |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gauffre, Bertrand Bretagnolle, Vincent |
author_facet |
Gauffre, Bertrand Bretagnolle, Vincent |
author_sort |
Gauffre, Bertrand |
title |
The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
title_short |
The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
title_full |
The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
title_fullStr |
The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
title_full_unstemmed |
The interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
title_sort |
interplay between seasonality and density: consequences for female breeding decisions in a small cyclic herbivore |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://prodinra.inra.fr/ft/8D0B4C95-7283-4EED-B9E1-B140B27D1D9D http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/278965 https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-14-17 |
genre |
Common vole Microtus arvalis |
genre_facet |
Common vole Microtus arvalis |
op_source |
BMC Ecology (14), . (2014) |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-ND-NC |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-14-17 |
container_title |
BMC Ecology |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
17 |
_version_ |
1766391908796465152 |