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Reproduction of the least weasel in captivity: basic observations and the influence of food availability

100%

Sundell J.

Acta Theriologica

2003

tom 48

nr 1

The least weasel Mustela nivalis nivalis Linnaeus, 1766 is unique among carnivores because of its small body size and capacity for fast reproduction. It has been suggested to be the main agent for maintaining cyclic fluctuations in northern vole populations, largely based on its high reproductive potential and dependence on small rodents. This study describes basic reproductive data on the least weasel obtained during a captive breeding program. In the experiments, food availability was manipulated at the onset of breeding. Altogether, 65 litters were born during the 5-year study. The mean litter size was 5.1 (in 53 litters of known litter size), the most common litter size being six. The sex ratio of weaned young was not biased from 1:1. The median date of birth was June 4. Food manipulations did not affect mating frequency suggesting that the observation of failure in breeding in years of low abundance of small mammals is due to mortality of embryos or young before weaning, but not due to avoidance of breeding at low food availability. In this respect, weasels differ from other main vole predators, owls and raptors, which often skip breeding if small mammals are scarce.

Amplification of DNA markers from scat samples of the least weasel Mustela nivalis nivalis

100%

Wang R., Painter J. N., Hanski I.

Acta Theriologica

2002

tom 47

nr 4

To test the feasibility of using field-collected scats as a source of DNA in the study of the least weasel Mustela nivalis nivalis Linnaeus, 1766, DNA was extracted from scat samples collected from captive weasels using a modified extraction protocol. Using universal primers, the control region of the mitochondrial genome was successfully amplified from scat-extracted DNA. This amplification resulted in two products; one equivalent in size and sequence to the product obtained from tissue-extracted weasel DNA, and the other slightly larger and equivalent in size and sequence to the domestic house mouse Mus musculus, the food source of the captive weasels. This demonstrates the reliability of DNA extraction from scats, as well as the possibility, under favourable circumstances, of identifying the prey species from the same samples. In addition, we attempted to amplify microsatellite loci from both tissue and scat-extracted DNA using six primer pairs designed for other mustelids, the American mink Mustela vison and the wolverine Gulo gulo. While three loci, Mvi57 (American mink), Ggu216 and Ggu234 (wolverine), were found to be polymorphic in the least weasel, amplification of these loci from the scat extracted DNA was only successful for approximately half of the samples. Although further work is needed, the present results suggest that it is possible to use scats as a source of DNA in field studies of the least weasel.

Ograniczanie wyników

2 Acta Theriologica

1 Hanski I.

1 Painter J. N.

1 Sundell J.

1 Wang R.

1 2003

1 2002

Wyniki wyszukiwania

Reproduction of the least weasel in captivity: basic observations and the influence of food availability

Amplification of DNA markers from scat samples of the least weasel Mustela nivalis nivalis