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Physiological consequences of experimentally altering the population structure of Peromyscus maniculatus in the field

1975; Elsevier BV; Volume: 51; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0300-9629(75)90056-0

0300-9629

Richard Andrews, Robert Belknap, Edwin C. Christiansen, Meg Ryan-Kline,

Bat Biology and Ecology Studies

1. Cycles in breeding and adaptive endocrine responses of Peromyscus maniculatus follow seasonal climatic changes. 2. Randomly cropped and undisturbed populations followed parallel spring and autumn peaks in adrenal-pituitary, gonadal-pituitary, breeding and density. 3. There was a midsummer reduction of breeding, recruitment and density followed by declines in adrenal response. 4. Prevention of juvenile recruitment and emergence through selective cropping increased the productivity of resident adults and extended the autumn breeding cycle. 5. Juvenile cropping also attenuated the adrenal secretory response to reduced day length and cold without impairing adrenal-pituitary responsiveness. 6. Winter breeding occurred in the manipulated population even though most animals in the population showed a reduction in pituitary-gonadal activity in response to winter conditions.