School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2020 Nov 9;15(11):e0242104. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242104. eCollection 2020.
Resources that an individual selects contrasted against what is available can provide valuable information regarding species-specific behavior and ecological relationships. Small mammals represent excellent study organisms to assess such relationships. Isolated populations that exist on the edge of a species' distribution often exhibit behavioral adaptations to the extremes experienced by a species and can provide meaningful insight into the resource requirements of the species. We deployed radio transmitters in a peripheral population of the long-tailed vole (Microtus longicaudus) during the mating season. We developed models of resource selection at multiple scales (within home range and patch). We found voles generally selected areas close to water and roads and consisting of high understory vegetation primarily composed of grasses. Resource selection varied between sexes suggesting different resource needs during the breeding season. The differential resource needs of voles might be a result of the energetic requirements for reproduction and are representative of a promiscuous or polygynous mating system.
个体选择的资源与可用资源形成对比，可以提供有关特定物种行为和生态关系的有价值信息。小型哺乳动物是评估此类关系的绝佳研究生物。分布范围边缘存在的孤立种群，通常会对物种经历的极端情况表现出行为适应，从而为物种的资源需求提供有意义的见解。在交配季节，我们在长尾仓鼠（Microtus longicaudus）的边缘种群中部署了无线电发射器。我们在多个尺度（家域内和斑块内）上开发了资源选择模型。我们发现，仓鼠通常选择靠近水和道路的区域，并且由主要由草组成的高下层植被组成。资源选择在性别之间存在差异，表明繁殖季节的资源需求不同。仓鼠的不同资源需求可能是繁殖所需能量的结果，并且代表了一种滥交或多配偶制的交配系统。
