Keywords
Marsupials
Rhipidomys macrurus
Rodents
How to Cite
Accepted 2021-06-29
Published 2021-07-15
Abstract
Litter size and reproductive conditions are important in natural history. However, this information is scarce in scientific literature. Here, we presented litter size data for eight small mammal species (four marsupials and four rodents) and investigated the reproductive conditions of three small rodent species in the transition between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado in central Brazil. We counted the number of young born, the number of embryos found in the uterus, and recorded the presence of well-developed teats and evident scrotum to evaluate the reproductive condition. The litter sizes ranged from one (Oecomys bicolor) to 11 (Gracilinanus agilis and Marmosa murina). We did not find evidence of reproductive seasonality. The pattern found here is similar to other studies carried out in different locations of South America.
References
Caroli L, Capizzi D, Luiselli L. 2000. Reproductive strategies and life-history traits of the savi’s Pine vole, Microtus savii. Zoological Science. 17: 209-216. https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.17.209
Catzeflis FM, Lim BK, Silva CR. 2018. Litter size and seasonality in reproduction for Guianan rodents and opossums. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. 1(1):31-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650521.2018.1528655
Cáceres NC. 2000. Population ecology and reproduction of the white-eared opossum Didelphis albiventris (Mammalia, Marsupialia) in an urban environment of Brazil. Ciência e Cultura. 52: 171-174.
Cáceres NC. 2012. Os marsupiais do Brasil: biologia, ecologia e conservação. 2° Ed. Editora UFMS, Campo Grande, MS.
Couto D, Talamoni SA. 2005. Reproductive condition of Akodon montensis Thomas and Bolomys lasiurus (Lund) (Rodentia, Muridae) based on histological and histometric analyses of testes and external characteristics of gonads. Acta Zool. 86:111–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6395.2005.00191.x
Fleming, TH. 1973. The reproductive cycles of three species of opossums and other mammals in the Panama Canal zone. Journal of Mammalogy. 54(2):438-455. https://doi.org/10.2307/1379129
Gardner AL. 2008. Mammals of South America, volume 1. Marsupials, Xenarthrans, Shrews, and Bats. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Hannibal W, Figueiredo VV, Claro HWP, Carvalho AC, Cabral GP, Oliveira RF, Aquino HF, Viana FV, Silveiro TF, Filho JJS. 2015. Mamíferos não-voadores em fragmentos de Cerrado no sul do es-tado de Goiás. Bol. Soc. Bras. Mastozool. 74(1): 103-109.
Hannibal W, Cunha NL., Figueiredo VV, Rossi RF, Caceres NC, Ferreira VL. 2018. Multi-scale approach to disentangle the small mammal composition in a fragmented landscape in central Brazil. Journal of Mammalogy. 99(6):1455-1464. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy142
Loeb SC, Schwab RG. 1987. Estimation of litter size in small mammals: bias due to chronology of embryo resorption. Journal of Mammalogy. 68(3): 671-675. https://doi.org/10.2307/1381601
Mallmann AS, Finokiet M, Dalmaso AC, Melo GL, Ferreira VL, Caceres NC. 2011. Dinâmica populacional e reprodução de pequenos mamíferos de uma Floresta Estacional do Maciço do Urucum, oeste do Pantanal, Brasil. Neotropical Biology and Conservation. 6(2): 94-102. https://doi.org/10.4013/nbc.2011.62.04
Patton JL, Pardiñas UFJ, D’Elía G. 2015. Mammals of South America, volume 2. The University of Chicago, Chicago. pp. 1384.
Regidor HA, Gorostiague M. 1996. Reproduction in the White Eared Opossum (Didelphis albiventris) under temperature conditions in Argentina. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna & Environm. 31: 133-136. https://doi.org/10.1076/snfe.31.3.133.13338
Sikes RS, Ylönen H. 1998. Considerations of optimal litter size in mammals. Oikos. 83: 452-465. https://doi.org/10.2307/3546673
Sikes, R. S., The Animal Care and Use Committee of the American Society of Mammalogists. 2016. 2016 Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the use of wild mammals in research and education. Journal of Mammalogy, 97: 663−688. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyw078
Silva MPL, Leite YLR, Costa LP. 2015. Litter size and embryo implantation in neotropical rodents. Oecologia. Australis. 19: 183-194. https://doi.org/10.4257/oeco.2015.1901.12
Villamizar-Ramírez ÁM, Ramírez-Pinilla MP, Serrano-Cardozo VH. 2019. Actividad reproductiva y dinámica poblacional de Rhipidomys fulviventer (Rodentia: Cricetidae) en la Cordillera Oriental colombiana. Mastozoología Neotropical. 26(2):452–467. https://doi.org/10.31687/saremMN.19.26.2.0.25
Villamizar-Ramírez ÁM, Serrano-Cardozo VH, Ramírez-Pinilla MP. 2017. Reproductive activity of a population of Nephelomys meridensis (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Colombia. Mastozoología Neotropical. 24(1):177–189.
Wooller RD, Richardson KC. 1992. Reduction in the number of young during pouch-life in a small marsupial. Journal of Zoology. 226: 445-454. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb07491.x
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.