Changes in population structure and reproduction during a 3-yr population cycle of voles

Cyclic changes in population growth rate are caused by changes in survival and/or reproductive rate. To find out whether cyclic changes in reproduction are an important part of the mechanism causing cyclic fluctuations in small mammal populations, we studied changes in the population structure and reproduction of field voles ( Microtus agrestis ), sibling voles ( M. rossiaemeridionalis ), bank voles ( Clethrionomys glareolus ), and common shrews ( Sorex araneus ) in western Finland during 1984–1992, in an area with 3-yr vole cycles. We also modelled the population growth of voles using parameter values from this study. The animals studied were collected by snap trapping in April, May, June, August, September, and, during 1986–1990, also in October. We found several phase-related differences in the population structure (age structure, sex ratio, proportion of mature individuals) and reproduction (litter size, length of the breeding season) of voles. In non-cyclic common shrews, the only significant phase-related difference was a lower proportion of overwintered individuals in the increase phase. According to the analyses and the vole model, phase-related changes in litter size had only a minor impact on population growth rate. The same was true for winter breeding in the increase phase. The length and intensity of the summer breeding season had an effect on yearly population growth but this impact was relatively weak compared to the effect of cyclic changes in survival. The population increase rates of Microtus were delayed dependent on density (8–12-month time lag). Our results indicate that cyclic changes in reproduction are not an important part of the mechanism driving cyclic fluctuations in vole populations. Low survival of young individuals appeared to play an important role in the shift from the peak to the decline phase in late summer and early autumn.     

Predator-induced changes in population structure and individual quality of Microtus voles: a large-scale field experiment

In small mammal populations with multiannual oscillations in density, observational data have revealed cyclic changes in population structure, reproduction, and individual quality, but mechanisms inducing these changes have remained an open question. We analysed data collected during a 3-year predator reduction experiment to find out the effects of predators on population structure, reproductive parameters, and individual quality of Microtus voles (the field vole M. agrestis and the sibling vole M. rossiaemeridionalis ) in western Finland. Voles were collected by snap trapping in April, June, August, and October during 1997–1999. The yearly reduction of predators from April to October had a clear positive effect on the abundance of sibling voles but did not significantly affect the densities of field voles. Predator reduction apparently also affected the age ratio and mean body size in late summer, as well as pancreatic weights of voles. However, all observed differences between predator reduction and control areas, except those in abundance, were small and may mainly reflect a generally higher survival leading to higher densities of voles in predator reduction areas. Our results also indicated a relative lack of high quality food at population peaks but not because of reduced foraging activity in the presence of predators. We conclude that the indirect effects of vole-eating predators on the population growth of main prey are small compared to the detrimental direct effects on prey survival. In the case of less preferred prey, indirect effects of predation through reduced interspecific competition may play a role at high densities.     

Hantavirus antibody occurrence in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) during a vole population cycle

Puumala virus, genus Hantavirus, is the etiologic agent of nephropathia epidemica, a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. The bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) is the natural reservoir species of this hantavirus. We initiated sampling of bank voles at sites of recently identified human nephropathia epidemica cases and paired control sites in the fall of 1995 in coastal areas of northern Sweden. Sites were trapped annually in spring and fall until 1999. Prevalence of antibody to Puumala virus was similar among local bank vole populations in the two types of sites over time. During peak years, however, the absolute number of bank voles was higher in case sites than control sites. Consequently, the likelihood of Puumala virus exposure was increased at case sites during population highs. This would imply that the risk of Puumala virus exposure to conspecifics and humans is habitat and site dependent with a temporal component.     

Winter herbivory by voles during a population peak: the importance of plant quality

Bilberry shoots are one of the main food sources for grey-sided voles Clethrionomys rufocanus during winter. This study examined the relation between plant quality variables of bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus shoots, overall vegetation height, and the winter consumption of bilberry by grey-sided voles. Results show that only the phenolic concentration correlated significantly with the amount of bilberry biomass consumed, and bilberry consumption decreased with an increasing phenolic concentration. The best predictor of herbivory on bilberry was not plant quality but rather the overall vegetation height. This may be because the quality of bilberry shoots is high in all habitats and that predation is a greater mortality risk than nutritional deficiencies during winter.     

Rate of population change in voles from different phases of the population cycle

Factors involved in causing cyclic vole populations to decline, and in preventing populations from recovering during the subsequent low density phase have long remained unidentified. The traditional view of self-regulation assumes that an increase in population density is prevented by a change in the quality of individuals within the population itself, but this is still inadequately tested in the field. We compared the population growth of wild field voles ( Microtus agrestis ) from the low phase (conducted in 1998) with that of voles from the increase phase (conducted in 1999) in predator-proof enclosures (each 0.5 ha) in western Finland. Within a few months, enclosed vole populations increased to high density, and the realised per capita rate of change over the breeding season did not differ between the populations from different cycle phases. This implies that the recovery of populations from the low phase was not hindered by an impoverishment in quality of individual voles. Accordingly, we suggest that population intrinsic factors (irrespective of the mechanisms they are based on) are unlikely to play a significant role in the generation of cyclic density fluctuations of voles. Instead, we discovered direct density-dependent regulation in the vole populations. Accurate estimates of population growth and the observed density dependence provide important information for empirically based models on population dynamics of rodents.     

Changes in neurodynamic parameters of the human brain during an individual annual cycle

Neurodynamic parameters of the human brain and their changes depending on the trimester of an individual annual cycle (IAC), which lasts from one birthday to the next, were studied. In the course of a year, fourfold examination (in February, April, July, and October) of 124 men and 242 women aged from 18 to 20 years was carried out. According to psychological characteristics, the examined subjects were divided into introverts and extroverts. The strength and mobility of nervous processes in extrovert men tended to decrease in the fourth trimester of the IAC, simultaneously with a decrease in the overall state of health. Introvert men exhibited a lower brain efficiency than extrovert men; changes in their brain functional mobility during an IAC were more pronounced than in the case of extrovert men; the lowest parameters were recorded in the second trimester. Annual changes in neurodynamic parameters in women were smaller than in men.     

繁殖期根田鼠种群密度对其种群统计参数及个体皮质酮水平的作用

为探讨引起种群密度制约的近因,本研究通过在野外建立的4个面积为50 m×30 m的封闭围栏,研究了繁殖期根田鼠种群密度对其种群统计参数及个体皮质酮水平的作用.在围栏设置高密度和低密度种群,测定了繁殖期根田鼠种群密度对种群补充率、存活率、变化率及个体皮质酮水平的作用.高密度种群的补充率和变化率较低密度种群显著降低,但其种群建群者存活率和子代存活率较低密度无显著变化.种群补充率和变化率分别与种群建群者数量呈显著回归关系.高密度处理建群者的血浆皮质酮含量和脾脏指数均显著高于低密度处理.上述结果说明,繁殖期根田鼠种群对其补充率和变化率存在密度制约作用,围栏种群建群者的数量是产生密度制约的唯一制约因子.密度制约与社群应激之间存在密切关联.社群应激可能是种群产生密度制约的近因之一.     

Dermatophytes in a population of bank voles and woodmice

A population of bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) inhabiting an oak wood in Somerset was examined for dermatophytes at monthly intervals for 2 years. The marked animals were frequently retrapped, allowing a study of host fungus relationship over a period of time. Microsporum persicolor (Sabouraud) Guiart er Grigorakis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Robin) Blanchard were isolated from both animal species, but M. persicolor predominated in bank voles and T. mentagrophytes in wood mice. In their most favoured host, both dermatophyte species often persisted for several months, but in the less favoured host they were never isolated at more than one sampling. Males of both animal species were infected more often than females.The existing evidence for the geophilic nature of both fungi is reviewed and shown to be very weak, especially for M. persicolor.This is the first report from Great Britain of T. mentagrophytes infection of wood mice not in contact with human habitation.     

Changes in aortic bifurcation geometry during a cardiac cycle

In vivo radial strain measurements at the rabbit aortic bifurcation were made at different times during the cardiac cycle. At the peak of the pressure pulse, the radial strain at the bifurcation is positive in the plane perpendicular to the bifurcation but negative in the plane of the bifurcation. Thus the cross-sectional geometry at this location distorts from an elliptical shape in diastole toward a more circular shape in systole.     

Changes in the level of poly ADP-ribosylation during a cell cycle

In order to analyze the fluctuation of the poly ADP-ribosylation level during the cell cycle of synchronously growing He La S3 cells, we have developed three different assay systems; intact and disrupted nuclear systems, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in vitro system. The optimum conditions for poly ADP-ribosylation in each assay system were similar except the pH optimum. Under the conditions favoring poly ADP-ribosylation, little radioactivity incorporated into poly(ADP-ribose) was lost after termination of the poly ADP-ribosylation by addition of nicotinamide which inhibits the reactions by more than 90% in any system. In the intact nuclear system, the level of poly ADP-ribosylation increased slightly subsequent to late G2 phase with a peak at M phase. The high level of poly ADP-ribosylation in M phase was also confirmed by using selectively collected mitotic cells which were arrested in M phase by Colcemid. The level in mitotic chromosomes was 5.1-fold higher than that in the nuclei from logarithmically growing cells. Colcemid has no effect on the poly ADP-ribosylation. In the disrupted nuclear system, a relatively high level of poly ADP-ribosylation was observed during mid S-G2 phase. When poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase was extracted from the nuclei with a buffer solution containing 0.3 M KCl, more than 90% of the enzyme activity was recovered. The poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in vitro system was dependent on both DNA and histone—10 μg each. In the enzyme system, enzyme activity was detected throughout the cell cycle and was observed to be highest in G2 phase. The high level at M phase observed in the intact nuclear system was not seen in the other two systems. Under the assay conditions, little influence of poly(ADP-ribose) degrading enzymes was noted on the level of poly ADP-ribosylation in any of the three systems. This was confirmed at various stages during the cell cycle through pulse-labeling and “chasing” by adding nicotinamide.     

Limited mass‐independent individual variation in resting metabolic rate in a wild population of snow voles (Chionomys nivalis)

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is a potentially important axis of physiological adaptation to the thermal environment. However, our understanding of the causes and consequences of individual variation in RMR in the wild is hampered by a lack of data, as well as analytical challenges. RMR measurements in the wild are generally characterized by large measurement errors and a strong dependency on mass. The latter is problematic when assessing the ability of RMR to evolve independently of mass. Mixed models provide a powerful and flexible tool to tackle these challenges, but they have rarely been used to estimate repeatability of mass‐independent RMR from field data. We used respirometry to obtain repeated measurements of RMR in a long‐term study population of snow voles (Chionomys nivalis) inhabiting an environment subject to large circadian and seasonal fluctuations in temperature. Using both uni‐ and bivariate mixed models, we quantify individual repeatability in RMR and decompose repeatability into mass‐dependent and mass‐independent components, while accounting for measurement error. RMR varies among individuals, that is, is repeatable (R = .46) and strongly co‐varies with BM. Indeed, much of the repeatability of RMR is attributable to individual variation in BM, and the repeatability of mass‐independent RMR is reduced by 41% to R = .27. These empirical results suggest that the evolutionary potential of RMR independent of mass may be severely constrained. This study illustrates how to leverage bivariate mixed models to model field data for metabolic traits, correct for measurement error and decompose the relative importance of mass‐dependent and mass‐independent physiological variation.     

Changes in membrane potential during the cell cycle

The membrane potential of isolated synchronized Chinese hamster lung cells (V79) has been determined as a function of their position in the cell cycle. During G 1 the cells exhibit a low but increasing membrane potential which rises sharply at the onset of the S phase. The elevated membrane potential is maintained throughout S and G 2 and declines again when the cells enter mitosis. Membrane potentials in an unsynchronized culture, which was recorded from both mitotic and interphase cells physically associated in groups and clusters, were similar to the plateau level obtained during S and G 2 in isolated synchronized cells, and exhibited little variation. It is concluded that although the membrane potential of isolated cells fluctuates during the cell cycle, it plays no causal role as a regulator of mitotic activity.     

Changes in chromatin structure during the mitotic cycle

Summary Optical density profiles of Feulgen-stained nuclei ofBryonia dioica at different stages of the mitotic cycle were determined. Nuclei in the G₂ phase have a greater fraction of dense chromatin than nuclei in G₁ phase. However, nuclei at the end of the S phase have dispersed chromatin of minimal density. Thus, chromatin density oscillates during the mitotic cycle of this species, consequently the progressive increase in density previously recorded throughout the intermitotic period of two other species (onion and mouse) cannot be a general rule.     

Changes in brain size during the menstrual cycle

Background

There is increasing evidence for hormone-dependent modification of function and behavior during the menstrual cycle, but little is known about associated short-term structural alterations of the brain. Preliminary studies suggest that a hormone-dependent decline in brain volume occurs in postmenopausal, or women receiving antiestrogens, long term. Advances in serial MR-volumetry have allowed for the accurate detection of small volume changes of the brain. Recently, activity-induced short-term structural plasticity of the brain was demonstrated, challenging the view that the brain is as rigid as formerly believed.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We used MR-volumetry to investigate short-term brain volume changes across the menstrual cycle in women or a parallel 4 week period in men, respectively. We found a significant grey matter volume peak and CSF loss at the time of ovulation in females. This volume peak did not correlate with estradiol or progesterone hormone levels. Men did not show any significant brain volume alterations.

Conclusions/Significance

These data give evidence of short-term hormone-dependent structural brain changes during the menstrual cycle, which need to be correlated with functional states and have to be considered in structure-associated functional brain research.