{"title":"Ecology and social behavior of the tamarisk gerbil Meriones tamariscinus: Insights from long-term research in the wild and seminatural environments","authors":"Vladimir S Gromov","doi":"10.1093/cz/zoae004","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The present review provides a compilation of the published data on the ecology and social behaviour of tamarisk gerbils. Both field studies and direct observations under semi-natural conditions provide evidence that the tamarisk gerbil is a nocturnal herbivorous rodent that lives in highly seasonal habitats and displays seasonal fluctuations in reproduction and spatial organization. A typical feature of the tamarisk gerbils' spatial organization is higher mobility of males during the breeding season (as compared to the non-breeding period) and formation of temporary aggregations of males competing for access to receptive females; the composition of these aggregations was variable and depended on the reproductive condition of the females. Females tend to occupy exclusive home ranges irrespective of their reproductive condition. The mating system of the species can be defined as scramble competition polygyny with some features of polygynandry and promiscuity. The tamarisk gerbil has distinct features of a solitary species and its social structure is primarily based on aggressive interactions or mutual avoidance of conspecifics resulting in a dominance hierarchy among males and site-dependent dominance among females during the breeding season. By the end of the breeding season, males become less mobile and occupy nearly exclusive home ranges, consistent with solitary living. The main features of the spatial and social organization of this species, which distinguish it from other solitary rodents, are the higher mobility of males and the formation of temporary multi-male–multi-female aggregations during the breeding season. Overall, the data presented expand our understanding of socio-ecology of gerbils.","PeriodicalId":50599,"journal":{"name":"Current Zoology","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Current Zoology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae004","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ZOOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The present review provides a compilation of the published data on the ecology and social behaviour of tamarisk gerbils. Both field studies and direct observations under semi-natural conditions provide evidence that the tamarisk gerbil is a nocturnal herbivorous rodent that lives in highly seasonal habitats and displays seasonal fluctuations in reproduction and spatial organization. A typical feature of the tamarisk gerbils' spatial organization is higher mobility of males during the breeding season (as compared to the non-breeding period) and formation of temporary aggregations of males competing for access to receptive females; the composition of these aggregations was variable and depended on the reproductive condition of the females. Females tend to occupy exclusive home ranges irrespective of their reproductive condition. The mating system of the species can be defined as scramble competition polygyny with some features of polygynandry and promiscuity. The tamarisk gerbil has distinct features of a solitary species and its social structure is primarily based on aggressive interactions or mutual avoidance of conspecifics resulting in a dominance hierarchy among males and site-dependent dominance among females during the breeding season. By the end of the breeding season, males become less mobile and occupy nearly exclusive home ranges, consistent with solitary living. The main features of the spatial and social organization of this species, which distinguish it from other solitary rodents, are the higher mobility of males and the formation of temporary multi-male–multi-female aggregations during the breeding season. Overall, the data presented expand our understanding of socio-ecology of gerbils.
Current ZoologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
CiteScore
3.20
自引率
9.10%
发文量
111
审稿时长
6 weeks
期刊介绍:
About the Journal
Current Zoology (formerly Acta Zoologica Sinica, founded in 1935) is an open access, bimonthly, peer-reviewed international journal of zoology. It publishes review articles and research papers in the fields of ecology, evolution and behaviour.
Current Zoology is sponsored by Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with the China Zoological Society.