Population structure and reproductive pattern of the Korean striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius

Abstract

Seasonal variation of the population structure and the reproductive pattern of the Korean striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius, were investigated. High capture ratios in juveniles, young adult, and old adult mice were found during the period from October to November, from November to March, and from May to September, respectively, and extremely low capture ratios of old adults during the period from November to February were characteristic. It seemed that the young adults that survived during the winter might become older by summer and have been counted as the old adults. The breeding in the mice began earlier in males (from mid February or early March to late October) than in females (from mid March to late October), having a peak in August and September, and both the male and female mice weighing more than 20 g generally reached sexual maturation in general. In the breeding season, both young and old adult males had large testes with enlarged seminiferous tubules filled with numerous germ and Sertoli cells, and expanded caudal epididymides with a vast number of spermatozoa; the females had many Graafian follicles and corpora lutea in large ovaries, and developed uterine glands in the thick endometria. The lower ratios of the testis weight to the body weight in July and August in 1994 compared to 1995 seemed due to the extreme drought and considerably higher temperature in 1994, but the decrease in the ratio in mid‐summer, only in the old mice, in both years might be explained partially by aging.

Key words:

• Striped field mouse
• Apodemus agrarius
• Population structure
• Reproductive pattern

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