title: Reproductive characteristics of the Yangtze vole (Microtus fortis calamorum) under laboratory feeding conditions.
abstract: The reproductive characteristics of a laboratory population of the vole Microtus fortis calamorum were examined. Voles were allowed to breed under laboratory feeding conditions. Over a period of 3 months, 61.82% of the 110 vole pairs examined produced 3 or 4 litters. There were 1-9 voles in each litter and the mean litter size was 4.67±0.28 (mean±SE). Most litters included 3-7 young voles, accounting for 83.62% of all litters. The mean farrowing interval was 25.9 days (range from 19 to 95 days), and the most farrowing intervals were 20-25 days, accounting for 79.9% of the total. When based on litter size, the reproductive index was 6.23, but was 3.42 when based on pup survival. The survival rate of offspring to weaning was 55.03%. The high rate of infanticide that occurred after removal of males from cages indicates that, in the laboratory, both parents need to be present prior to weaning.
authors.affiliation: Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China. Electronic address: zhangmw@isa.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Meiwen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China; College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chendu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Qunhua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Guo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chendu 610064, China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Xunjun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D008098:Litter Size; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Laboratory feeding conditions; Microtus fortis calamorum; Reproductive characteristics; Yangtze vole