Russian Journal of Theriology. Main page    

Russian Journal of Theriology. Main page
Free access to the published articles
Information about online submission, Articles format, Instructions for authors etc
Instructions for reviewers
Subscription and prices
Contacts

Русскоязычный вариант сайта
Biology of reproduction and postnatal development of a little-studied Schelkovnikov’s pine vole Microtus schelkovnikovi Satunin, 1907 (Rodentia, Arvicolinae)
Zorenko T.A.
P. 40-51
Schelkovnikov’s pine vole Microtus schelkovnikovi is a little-studied endemic species of the Talysh-Western Alborz Mountains, covered with relict Hyrcanian broad-leaved forests. Laboratory studies have shown the seasonality of reproduction in the species. M. schelkovnikovi voles have low breeding intensity and small litters, however maintain long-term reproductive activity. Social monogamy is a characteristic of the species under laboratory conditions. Most of the predictions of monogamy are found in M. schelkovnikovi: females mating only within formed pairs, prolonged courtship, small litters, small testes and a low number of ejaculations in males. The copulatory stereotype in M. schelkovnikovi is characterized by a low number of ejaculations, triggered by numerous intromissions and an average level of genital stimulation. The pattern of copulatory stereotype unites the Schelkovnikov’s pine vole with species of such taxa as Microtus s. str., Sumeriomys, and Terricola, which corresponds to distinguishing the West Palearctic branch of voles in the tribe Arvicolini and opposes the East Asian branch identified on the basis of molecular studies.

DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.23.1.05

References

  • Abdi E. & Deljouei A. 2019. Seasonal and spatial variability of root reinforcement in three pioneer species of the Hyrcanian forest // Austrian Journal of Forest Science. Vol.136. No.3. P.175–198.

  • Abramson N.I., Bodrov S.Y., Bondareva O.V., Genelt-Yanovskiy E.A. & Petrova T.V. 2021. A mitochondrial genome phylogeny of voles and lemmings (Rodentia: Arvicolinae): evolutionary and taxonomic implications // PLoS ONE. Vol.16. P.e0248198.

  • Akhani H., Djamali M., Ghorbanalizadeh A. & Ramezane E. 2010. Plant biodiversity of Hyrcanian relict forests N Iran: an overview of the flora, vegetation, paleoecology and conservation // Pakistan Journal of Botany. Vol.42. P.23–258.

  • Akhverdyan M.R., Lyapunova E.A. & Vorontsov N.N. 1992. [Karyology and systematics of shrub voles of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia (Terricola, Arvicolinae, Rodentia)] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.71. No.3. P.96–110 [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Alekperov Kh.M. 1959. K sistematike Microtus (Pitymys) schelkovnikovi Sat. [On the systematics of Microtus (Pitymys) schelkovnikovi Sat.] // Izvestiya AN Azerbaydzhana SSR. Vol.5. P.97–101 [in Russian].

  • Breed W.G. 1967. Ovulation in genus Microtus // Nature. Vol.214. No.5090. P.826.

  • Colvin D.V. 1973. Agonistic behaviour in males of five species of voles Microtus // Animal Behavior. Vol.21. No.3. P.471–480.

  • Dewsbury D.A. 1975. Diversity and adaptation in rodent copulatory behavior // Science. Vol.190. No.4218. P.947–954.

  • Dewsbury D.A. 1981. An exercise in the prediction of monogamy in the field from laboratory data on 43 species of muroid rodents // Biologist. Vol.63. No.34. P.138–162.

  • Ellerman J.R. & Morrison-Scott T.C.S. 1951. Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals, 1758–1946. London: British Museum (Natural History). 810 p.

  • Ghorbanalizadeh A. & Akhani H. 2021. Plant diversity of Hyrcanian relict forests: An annotated checklist, chorology and threat categories of endemic and near endemic vascular plant species // Plant Diversity. Vol.44. No.1. P.39–69.

  • Gray G.D. & Dewsbury D.A. 1973. A quantitative description of copulatory behavior in prairie voles (Microtus ohrogaster) // Animal Behavior. Vol.8. No.6. P.437–452.

  • Gromov I.M. & Polyakov I.Y. 1992. Voles (Microtinae). Fauna of the USSR, Mammals. Vol.3. Leiden: Brill E.J. Publishing Company. 725 p.

  • Guillén J. 2017. Laboratory animals: regulations and recommendations for the care and use of animals in research. Second Edition. London: Academic Press. 444 p.

  • Heske E.J. & Ostfeld R.S. 1990. Sexual dimorphism in size, relative size of testes, and mating systems in North American voles // Journal of Mammalogy. Vol.71. P.510–519.

  • Ivanov V.G. & Tembotov A.K. 1972. [Chromosome numbers and taxonomic status of pine voles in Caucasus] // Fauna, Ekologiya i Okhrana Zhivotnykh Severnogo Kavkaza. Nalchik: Kabardino-Balkarskij Gosudarstvennyj Universitet. Vol.1. P.51–65 [in Russian].

  • Jemiolo B. 1983. Ovulation and fertilization in the vole, Pitymys subterraneus // Biology of Reproduction. Vol.28. P.523–527.

  • Kadatsky N.G. 1964. [Rodents of Talysh and Lenkoran lowland and their distribution in landscape-geographical regions] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.43. No.11. P.1693–1707 [in Russian].

  • Kasatkin M.V., Isaev S.I. & Savinetskaya L.E. 1998. Some features of the ecology of the social vole (Microtus socialis) in the black lands of Kalmykia during the period of population increase // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.77. No.5. P.582–592 [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Kennerley R. 2016. Microtus schelkovnikovi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. P.e.T13456A22348673. DOI:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T13456A22348673.en

  • Kenney A.M., Hartung Th.G. & Dewsbury D.A. 1979. Copulatory behaviour on the initiation of pregnancy in California vole // Brain Behavior and Evolution. Vol.16. No.2. P.176–191.

  • Khatukhov A.M. & Tembotov A.K. 1982. [Review of Pitymys species of the Caucasus] // Temvotov A.K. et al. (eds). Problemy gornoy ekologii. Mezhvedomstennii sbornik nauchnykh trudov. Nal’chik: Kabardino-Balkarian State University. P.57–101 [in Russian].

  • Kohiya S.S. 1952. [Materials for the study of the reproduction of the Kartli vole (Microtus socialis goriensis Arg.)] // Soobshcheniya AN Gruzinskoy SSR. Vol.13. No.5. P.307–312 [in Russian].

  • Kratochvil J. 1970. Pitymys — Arten aus der Hohen Tatra (Mam., Rodentia) // Acta Scientiarum Naturalium — Academiae Scientiarum Bohemoslovacae. Brno. Vol.4. No.12. P.1–63.

  • Kryštufek B. & Shenbrot G.I. 2022. Voles and Lemmings (Arvicolinae) of the Palearctic Region. Maribor: Maribor University Press. 436 p.

  • Kuliev G.K. & Bickham J.W. 2010. Karyological relationships and biodiversity of the pine voles of Azerbaijan: differentiation of species from the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains // Museum of Texas Tech University. No.291. P.1–14.

  • Kuliev G. K. & Kuliev G. N. 1978. [Karyotype differences between three forms of pine voles] // Izvestiya Akademii Nauk Azerbaydzhanskoy SSR, Seriya biologisheskih nauk. Vol.1. P.94–97 [in Russian].

  • Mambetov A.H. 1987. [Ecological features of the pine vole (Pitymys majori caucasica Thomas, 1906) in natural and experimental conditions] // Temvotov A.K. et al. (eds). Fauna i ekologiya mlekopitayushchikh Kavkaza. Nal’chik: Kabardino-Balkaria State University. P.82–108 [in Russian].

  • Meyer M.N., Golenishchev F.N., Radjably S.I. & Sablina O.V. 1996. The grey voles (subgenus Microtus) of Russia and adjacent territories // Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Vol.232. St-Petersburg: Nauka. 320 p. [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Nadachowski A. 2007. The taxonomic status of Schelkovnikov’s pine vole Microtus schelkovnikovi (Rodentia, Mammalia) // Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. Vol.50A. No.1–2. P.67–72.

  • Ognev S. I. 1950. [Mammals of SSSR and Adjacent Territories. Rodents]. Vol.7. Moscow–Leningrad: Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR. 706 p. [in Russian].

  • Rutovskaya M.V. 2019. Vocal communication in Microtus (Terricola) schelkovnikovi and M. (T.) daghestanicus in the audible range of frequencies // Journal of Ethology. Vol.37. P.187–195.

  • Shidlovsky M.V. 1941. [Keys to Rodents of Georgia and Adjacent Countries]. Tbilisi: Zoologicheeskij Institut Akademii Nauk Gruzinskoy SSR. 54 p. [in Russian].

  • Shidlovsky M.V. 1976. [Keys to Rodents of Transcaucasia]. Tbilisi: Akademiya Nauk Gruzinskoy SSR, Institut Zoologii, Mecniereba Press. 255 p. [in Russian].

  • Shilova S.A. & Kasatkin M.V. 2000. Comparative analysis of the population structure of social vole (Microtus socialis Pall., 1773, Cricetidae, Rodentia) in different areas of its range // Russian Journal of Ecology. Vol.4. P.287–294 [in Russian with English summary].

  • Smorkacheva A.V. & Orlova D.V. 2011. Influence of polygyny on the reproductive success of female Chinese vole Microtus mandarinus (Rodentia, Arvicolinae) // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.90. No.17. P.71–81.

  • Soulsbury C.D. 2010. Genetic patterns of paternity and testes size in mammals // PLoS ONE. Vol.5. No.3. P.e9581.

  • Steiner H.M. 1972. Systematik und Okologie von Wühmausarten (Microtinae, Mammalia) der vorderasiatischen Gebirge Ostpontus, Talylysch und Elbrus // Sitzungsberichte Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche. K.1. Abt.I. Vol.180. No.5/7. P.99–103.

  • Tembotov A.K. 1983. [On the evolution of pine voles of the Caucasus and the rate of formation of separate species] // Gromov I.M. (ed.). Gryzuny. Materialy 6 Vsesoyuznogo soveshchaniya. Leningrad: Nauka. P.98–100 [in Russian].

  • Vereshchagin N.K. 1949. [Mammals of the Caucasus]. Moscow–Leningrad: Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR. 703 p. [in Russian].

  • Zimová I. 1987. Biology of reproduction and postnatal development of the pine vole, Pitymys subterraneus (Mammalia: Rodentia) under laboratory conditions // Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Biologica. Vol.11. P.367–417.

  • Zorenko T.A. 1981. Comparative analysis of postnatal development of gray voles in the “arvalis” group // Sloka N. (ed.). Ekologicheskiye i povedencheskiye issledovaniya pozvonochnykh zhivotnykh v Pribaltike. Sbornik nauchnykh trudov. Riga: University of Latvia. P.15–46 [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Zorenko T.A. 2000. Morphology of the genitals and sexual behavior of social voles of the subgenus Sumeriomys (Arvicolinae, Microtus) // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.79. No.8. P.990–999 [in Russian with English summary].

  • Zorenko T. 2001. Schelkovnikov’s pine vole Microtus schelkovnikovi. http://www.biodiversity.ru/programs/rodent/species/terricola_schelkovnikovi.html [in Russian].

  • Zorenko T.A. 2007. [Establishment of kinship of voles from Siberia and the Far East on the basis of the analysis of their sexual behaviour] // [Theriofauna of Russia and Adjacent Territories. International Conference]. Moscow: KMK Scientific Press Ltd. P.581 [in Russian].

  • Zorenko T.A. 2013. [Social voles of the subgenus Sumeriomys: systematics, biology and behaviour]. Saarbrücken: Palmariun Academic Publishing. 541 p. [in Russian].

  • Zorenko T.A. & Andersone Zh.E. 1996. Play behaviour of voles (Rodentia, Arvicolinae) // Zoologicheskij Zhurnal. Vol.94. No.8. P.960–971 [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Zorenko T. & Atanasov N. 2017. Patterns of behavior as an evidence for the taxonomical status of Lasiopodomys (Stenocranius) gregalis (Rodentia: Arvicolinae) // Acta Zoologica Bulgarica. Vol.8. P.189–197.

  • Zorenko T. & Atanasov N. 2018. Copulatory behavior supports a new insight into taxonomic status of root vole Alexandromys oeconomus (Rodentia, Arvicolinae) // Russian Journal of Theriology. Vol.17. No.1. P.48–57.

  • Zorenko T.A. & Malygin V.M. 1984. [Effects of ethological reproductive isolation mechanisms for the hybridization of three species of common voles group arvalis (Microtus, Cricetidae)] // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.63. No.7. P.1072–1983 [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Zorenko T.A. & Skinderskaya I.A. 1996. Estrous cycles and behavioral receptivity in social voles of the subgenus Sumeriomys (Rodentia, Arvicolinae) // Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. Vol.75. No.10. P.1735–1747 [in Russian, with English summary].

  • Zorenko T.A., Smorkachova A.V. & Aksyonova T.G. 1994. Reproduction and postnatal ontogenesis of the Mandarin vole Lasiopodomys mandarinus Milne-Edwards, and a comparison with Brandt’s vole Lasiopodomys brandti Radde (Rodentia, Cricetidae) // Laboratornyye Zhivotnyye. Vol.4. No.1. P.5–16.

  • Zorenko T.A. & Zakharov K.V. 1987. [Geographical variability of sexual behavior in sibling species of the common vole] // Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. No.9. P.106–114 [in Russian, English summary].

  • Zorenko T.A., Zakharov K.V. & Berezina R.J. 1989. [Exploratory behaviour of voles: microevolutional and taxonomical aspects Exploratory behaviour of voles: taxonomical an microevolutionary aspects of a problem] // Zorenko T.A. & Zakharov K.V. (eds.) Aktualnye Problemy Zoologii. Riga: University of Latvia. P.57–110 [in Russian, with English summary].

Download PDF