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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

A System for Tracking the Dynamics of Social Preference Behavior in Small Rodents
Published on: November 21, 2019
Sex-biased dispersal patterns depend on the spatial scale in a social rodent
B Gauffre1, E Petit, S Brodier
1INRA-EFPA, UMR Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations (INRA/IRD/Cirad/Montpellier SupAgro), Campus International de Baillarguet, CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, France. bertrand.gauffre@sophia.inra.fr
Abstract:
Dispersal is a fundamental process in ecology because it influences the dynamics, genetic structure and persistence of populations. Furthermore, understanding the evolutionary causes of dispersal pattern, particularly when they differ between genders, is still a major question in evolutionary ecology. Using a panel of 10 microsatellite loci, we investigated at different spatial scales the genetic structure and the sex-specific dispersal patterns in the common vole Microtus arvalis, a small colonial mammal. This study was conducted in an intensive agricultural area of western France. Hierarchical F(ST) analyses, relatedness and assignment tests suggested (i) that females are strongly kin-clustered within colonies; (ii) that dispersal is strongly male-biased at a local scale; and (iii) long-distance dispersal is not rare and more balanced between genders. We conclude that males migrate continuously from colony to colony to reproduce, whereas females may disperse just once and would be mainly involved in new colony foundation.
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