Variation in the timing of reproduction of the four-striped field mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio, in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Jackson, Claire , Bernard, Ric T F
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447101 , vital:74584 , https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2006.11407367
- Description: We used the four-striped field mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio (Sparrmann, 1784), to test the hypothesis that reproduction in a small, short-lived mammal will be opportunistic, characterized by temporal and spatial variation in the timing of events, and only be inhibited under harsh and predictable winter conditions. Field mice were trapped for three years in two regions of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, one that experienced a predictable and harsh winter (Mountain Zebra National Park; MZNP) and the other which experienced a milder winter (Thomas Baines Nature Reserve; TBNR). There was no winter inhibition of reproduction at TBNR, while at MZNP female reproductive activity was inhibited but males continued to produce spermatozoa in winter. We interpret this flexibility in the timing of reproduction as supporting an opportunistic reproductive strategy which may be an adaptation to the seasonal and often unpredictable climate of the region.
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- Date Issued: 2006
Studies of the environmental and endocrine control of reproduction in the four striped field mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio
- Authors: Jackson, Claire
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: Microtus Microtus -- South Africa -- Reproduction Mice -- Reproduction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5777 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005465
- Description: Previous studies of the control of reproduction in Rhabdomys pumilio have shown that day length alone does not inhibit spermatogenesis, that a reduction in food availability and ambient temperature results in an inhibition of gametogenesis, that females are more susceptible to inhibition than are males, and that mice that are able to maintain a body fat store in the face of an energetic challenge, are less likely to show reproductive inhibition than those that lose their fat store. In the present study, field and laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the effects of winter food supplementation on reproduction and population dynamics, and the effects of exogenous GnRH, leptin and mercaptoacetate (MA) on reproductive activity of Rhabdomys pumilio exposed to an energetic challenge. In the field food supplementation experiments in Thomas Baines Nature Reserve (2000, 2001), there was no winter inhibition of reproduction and provision of supplementary food had little effect. While at Mountain Zebra National Park (2002) winter was harsher, females became reproductively inactive, spermatogenesis continued and the provision of extra food resulted in higher rates of individual growth and larger reproductive organs. Treatment of mice that had been exposed to a prolonged energetic challenge, with exogenous GnRH (1µg/mouse/treatment) resulted in an increase in the masses of the testes and epididymides, and in the activity of the reproductive organs. Treatment with exogenous leptin (40µg/mouse/treatment), concurrently with an energetic challenge, countered the negative effects of the energetic challenge, and treated males had larger reproductive organs. MA (600µmol/kg body mass), given concurrently with an energetic challenge, did not inhibit fat metabolism, although the high-fat diet countered the effects of the energetic challenge. Results suggest that the first response of male Rhabdomys pumilio to an energetic challenge is a reduction in the size of the reproductive organs, without an inhibition of spermatogenesis. It is likely that this effect is mediated via white fat and leptin, and leptin’s influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis. Results of the study support the suggestion that females are more sensitive to reproductive inhibition than males and that reproduction in Rhabdomys pumilio is truly opportunistic.
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- Date Issued: 2003
Aspects of reproduction in the four-striped field mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio
- Authors: Jackson, Claire
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Microtus , Mice , Mice -- Reproduction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5637 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005319 , Microtus , Mice , Mice -- Reproduction
- Description: Rhabdomys pumilio, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, does not use short day length as an inhibitory cue for reproductive activity, and, despite previous records indicating that these mice are strictly seasonal in their reproduction, litters have been found during the winters of some years,both in the Eastern Cape and in the Western Cape. This led me to believe that the reproductive activity of Rhabdomys pumilio is more opportunistic and that the cue or cues used to control reproduction are less predictable and, or more variable than the photoperiod cue used by many seasonally reproducing rodents. Two experiments were conducted, investigating the influence of low ambient temperature (15⁰C)and reduced food availability on the reproductive activity of both male and female four striped field mice. Mice were maintained in one of four conditions (food restricted at 15⁰C, food restricted at 26⁰C, ad lib. food at 15⁰C, and ad lib. food at 26⁰C) for 4 (males) and 8 weeks (females)(photoperiod 12L:12D, humidity 40%). Results indicated that the males reduced their reproductive activity slightly when exposed to either low temperature or low food availability and that maximum inhibition of reproduction occurred when mice were exposed to both low temperature and low food availability. However, female reproductive activity was inhibited when exposed to low food availability, irrespective of the temperature. Both sexes of mice showed varying abilities to resist fat loss and, in the males, the size of the fat store had a significant effect on reproduction. This varying ability to resist fat loss could be related to levels of activity and in the females (where activity was quantified), high activity scores were significantly associated with reproductive inhibition. These results support the hypothesis that reproduction in Rhabdomys pumilio is opportunistic and controlled by the availability of energy. I propose that the females will be more sensitive to reproductive inhibition due to their far greater post-fertilization responsibilities, where the reproductive activity of the females is rapidly inhibited by a reduction in food availability, while the males are less readily inhibited by low food availability or low temperature, unless the change in the controlling factors is severe enough, or prolonged, at which stage their reproductive activity will cease. The significance of opportunistic reproduction in the seasonal but unpredictable climate of the study area is discussed.
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- Date Issued: 2000