Latitudinal variation in litter size and length of the breeding season in populations of Pampas Mice, Akodon azarae
This research was conducted to examine litter size and length of the breeding season with respect to latitude in seven populations of the murid rodent Akodon azarae inhabiting the pampas of central Argentina. Both the length of the breeding season and the mean litter size of A. azarae showed signifi...
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| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | JOUR |
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| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00251461_v58_n4_p563_Bilenca |
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| Sumario: | This research was conducted to examine litter size and length of the breeding season with respect to latitude in seven populations of the murid rodent Akodon azarae inhabiting the pampas of central Argentina. Both the length of the breeding season and the mean litter size of A. azarae showed significant negative associations with latitude (P = 0.016 and P = 0.024, respectively). These findings do not support previous hypotheses of latitudinal increase of litter size that have been reported for small mammals inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere. Available evidence suggests that at higher latitudes there would be suboptimal conditions for reproduction of A. azarae, which may be brought about by a combination of harsher environmental conditions and lower availability of food, particularly insects. These features may impede the settlement and development of viable populations of Pampas mice beyond the southern limit of their distribution. © 1994, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved. |
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