Reproductive Characteristics of the Northern Mole Vole at the Northeastern Periphery of Species Range.

Animal populations living at the periphery of species range are characterized by increased natural mortality, which affects the pattern of population dynamics and reproductive potential of individuals. However, trends of variation in reproductive parameters along ecological gradients are as yet unclear. Analysis of age at maturity, timing of pregnancy, and rates of postnatal development in reproductive pairs of northern mole voles (Ellobius talpinus) kept under laboratory conditions has shown that the test parameters in a population living at the northeastern periphery of the species range (Novosibirsk oblast) are different from those in a population from the optimal zone of the range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]