Skip to main content

Ecological Aspects of Reproductive Patterns in South American Small Rodents

  • Chapter
Reproductive Biology of South American Vertebrates

Abstract

The Class Mammalia is a diverse and varied taxon (over 4200 species) with a global distribution. The order Rodentia contains approximately 418 recent genera and 1749 recent species. The family Muridae is the largest of all mammalian families, containing about 1135 recent species, or one-fourth of all mammals (Anderson and Jones 1984). Murid rodents (commonly referred to as rats and mice) occur virtually everywhere that mammals are found and are only absent from Iceland, New Zealand, Antarctica, and some oceanic and arctic islands (Anderson and Jones 1984).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Anderson S, Jones JK Jr (1984) Orders and Families of Recent Mammals of the World. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlow JC (1969) Observations on the biology of rodents in Uruguay. Life Sciences Contributions, Royal Ontario Museum 75:1–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baskin J A (1978) Bensonomys, Calomys, and the origin of the phyllotine group of Neotropical cricetines (Rodentia:Cricetidae). Journal of Mammalogy 59:125–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronson FH (1985) Mammalian reproduction: An ecological perspective. Biology of Reproduction 32:1–26.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bronson FH (1989) Mammalian Reproductive Biology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronson FH, Perrigo G (1987) Seasonal regulation of reproduction in muroid rodents. American Zoologist 27:929–940.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carleton MD (1980) Phylogenetic relationships in neotomine-peromyscine rodents (Muroidea) and a reappraisal of the dichotomy within New World Cricetinae. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 157:1–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carleton MD, Musser GG (1989) Systematic studies of oryzomyine rodents (Muridae:Sigmodontinae): A synopsis of Microryzomys. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 191:1–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalby PL (1975) Biology of pampa rodents, Balcarce Area, Argentina. Publications of the Museum, Michigan State University, Biological Sciences 5:149–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delany MJ, Neal BR (1969) Breeding seasons in rodents in Uganda. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, Supp. 6:229–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming TH (1971) Population ecology of three species of neotropical rodents. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 143:1–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fonseca GAB, Kierulff C (1989) Biology and natural history of Atlantic Forest small mammals. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum 34:99–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulk GW (1975) Population ecology of rodents in the semiarid shrublands of Chile. Occasional Papers of the Museum, Texas Tech University, 33:1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hershkovitz P (1966) Mice, land bridges and Latin American faunal interchange. In Wenzel RL, Tipton VJ (eds.). Ectoparasites of Panama. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, pp. 725–747.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hershkovitz P (1972) The recent mammals of the neotropical region: A zoogeographic and ecological review. In Keast A, Erk FC, Glass B (eds.). Evolution, Mammals, and Southern Continents. State University of New York Press, Albany, pp. 311–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honacki JH, Kinman KE, Koeppl JW (1982) Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Allen Press and the Association of Systematic Collections, Lawrence, Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hueck K (1972) As Florestas da América do Sul. Editora Polígono S. A., São Paulo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karimi Y, De Almeida CR, Petter F (1976) Note sur les rongeurs du Nordest du Bresil. Mammalia 40:257–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacher TE Jr (1982) Behavioral research in South America. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Special Publication Series, Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 209–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacher TE Jr, Mares MA (1986) The structure of neotropical mammal communities: An appraisal of current knowledge. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 59:121–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacher TE Jr, Mares MA, Alho CJR (1989) The structure of a small mammal community in a central Brazilian savanna. In Redford KH, Eisenberg JF (eds.). Advances in Neotropical Mammalogy. Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 137–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mares MA (1975) South American mammal zoogeography: Evidence from convergent evolution in desert rodents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 72:1702–1706.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mares MA (1976) Convergent evolution of desert rodents: Multivariate analysis and zoogeographic implications. Paleobiology 2:39–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mares MA (1985) Mammal faunas of xeric habitats and the Great American Interchange. In Stehli FG, Webb SD (eds.). The Great American Biotic Interchange. Plenum, New York. pp. 489–520.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mares MA, Braun JK, Gettinger D (1989) Observations on the distribution and ecology of the mammals of the Cerrado grasslands of central Brazil. Annals of Carnegie Museum 58:1–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall LG, Webb SD, Sepkoski JJ Jr, Raup DM (1982) Mammalian evolution and the Great American Interchange. Science 215:1351–1357.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meserve PL, Glanz WE (1978) Geographical ecology of small mammals in the northern Chilean arid zone. Journal of Biogeography 5:135–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murua R, Gonzalez LA (1986) Regulation of numbers in two neotropical rodentspecies in southern Chile. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 59:193–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nitikman LZ, Mares MA (1987) Ecology of small mammals in a gallery forest of central Brazil. Annals of Carnegie Museum 56:75–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell MA (1982) Population biology of North and South American grassland rodents: A comparative review. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Special Publication Series, Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 167–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olrog CC, Lucero MM (1981) Guia de los Mamiferos Argentinos. Ministerio de Cultura y Educacion, Fundacion Miguel Lillo, San Miguel de Tucuman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson OP (1983) Characteristics of a mammalian fauna from forests in Patagonia, southern Argentina. Journal of Mammalogy 64:476–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson OP, Pearson AK (1982) Ecology and biogeography of the southern rainforests of Argentina. In Mares MA, Genoways HH (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Special Publications Series, Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pp. 129–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reig OA (1981) Teoria del origen y desarollo de la fauna de mamiferos de América del Sur. Monographiae Naturae, Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales “Lorenzo Scaglia” 1:1–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reig OA (1984) Distribuição geográfica e história evolutiva dos roedores muroideos sulamericanos (Cricetidae:Sigmodontinae). Revista Brasileira de Genética 7:333–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reig OA (1987) An assessment of the systematics and evolution of the Akodontini, with the description of new fossil species of Akodon (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae). In Patterson BD, Timm RM (eds.). Studies in Neotropical Mammalogy: Essays in Honor of Philip Hershkovitz. Fieldiana, Zoology, New Series 39:347–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson GG (1980) Splendid Isolation: The Curious History of South American Mammals. Yale University Press, New Haven.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streilein KE (1982a) Ecology of small mammals in the semiarid Brazilian caatinga. I. Climate and faunal composition. Annals of Carnegie Museum 51:79–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streilein KE (1982b) The ecology of small mammals in the semiarid Brazilian caatinga. III. Reproductive biology and population ecology. Annals of Carnegie Museum 51:251–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Temme M (1981) Reproductive parameters of the Polynesian rat Rattus exulans in the northern Marshall Islands. Z. Angeu. Zool. 68:315–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vivas AM (1986) Population biology of Sigmodon alstoni (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in the Venezuelan Llanos. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 59:179–191.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lacher, T.E. (1992). Ecological Aspects of Reproductive Patterns in South American Small Rodents. In: Hamlett, W.C. (eds) Reproductive Biology of South American Vertebrates. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2866-0_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2866-0_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7701-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2866-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics