Age determination and individual growth rate of Microtus oeconomus mehelyi based on live-trapping

• Published in: Biológia Vol. 74; no. 5; pp. 487 - 492
• Main Authors: Hulejová Sládkovičová, Veronika, Žiak, Dávid, Miklós, Peter, Kameniar, Ondrej, Kocian, Ľudovít
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-05-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Age composition; Age determination; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body length; Body size; Capture-recapture studies; Cell Biology; Chronology; Data processing; Growth rate; Life Sciences; Microbiology; Microtus oeconomus; Original Article; Overwintering; Plant Sciences; Population studies; Zoology; Growth rate; Age structure; Overwintering; Cohorts; Age determination
• ISSN: 0006-3088; 1336-9563
• DOI: 10.2478/s11756-018-00188-6

The evaluation of the age structure of a population is an important part of many mammalian population studies and usually requires comparison with an age interval standard. To be able to assess the age structure of the protected and rare root vole subspecies
Microtus oeconomus mehelyi
Éhik, 1928 we analysed data on body length measured in its natural habitat during a 4-year capture-recapture study and created a probability table to help classify individuals into cohorts. Each of the spring, summer and autumn cohorts and the group of overwintered individuals was significantly distinguishable from others and their growth rates and sizes varied from each other. Before winter, these different growth trajectories have led to more similar values in body length that could be a consequence of a trade-off between overwintering strategies depending on body size.