Levels of Aggression in Fluctuating Populations of the Prairie Vole, Microtus ochrogaster, in Eastern Kansas
- 27 February 1976
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Mammalogy
- Vol. 57 (1), 43-57
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1379511
Abstract
Levels of aggression, as seen through wounding, were examined throughout a density cycle of the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, in eastern Kansas. Biweekly samples yielded 640 live-trapped voles for which reproductive and wounding assessments were made over a 23-mont:b period. At autopsy, the everted skin was examined for evidence of puncture wounds and scars caused by attacks from other small mammals. Wounds were graded by a wounding index and analyses performed by Chi-square tests. Levels of wounding were comparatively great in the winter season, in periods of intense reproduction, among males, and among adults. A model of population regulation based on the observed patterns of wounding is proposed.This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Population Cycles in Small MammalsPublished by Elsevier ,1974
- Genetic, Behavioral, and Reproductive Attributes of Dispersing Field Voles Microtus pennsylvanicus and Microtus ochrogasterEcological Monographs, 1971
- Aggression and Self‐Regulation of Population Size in DeermiceEcology, 1967
- Effects of Chlorpromazine on Aggression in Laboratory Populations of Wild House MiceEcology, 1967
- The Relationship between Agonistic Behaviour and Population Changes in the Deermouse, Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner)Journal of Animal Ecology, 1965
- Movement, Activity and Distribution of the Small Rodents Clethrionomys glareolus and Apodemus sylvaticus in WoodlandJournal of Animal Ecology, 1964
- A BLOCK TO PREGNANCY IN THE MOUSE CAUSED BY PROXIMITY OF STRANGE MALESReproduction, 1960
- Regulatory Mechanisms of House Mouse Populations: Social Behavior Affecting Litter SurvivalEcology, 1955