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Adrenal analysis for critique of the social stress theory in natural populations of a montane vole
Author(s) -
Tanaka Ryo
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
population ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1438-390X
pISSN - 1438-3896
DOI - 10.1007/bf02533904
Subject(s) - vole , biology , montane ecology , fertility , ecology , natural (archaeology) , zoology , demography , population , sociology , paleontology
Summary The vole, Eothenomys smithi , in highlands of Shikoku was studied to disclose ups and downs of adrenal activities under the influence of the breeding level in natural populations. It has proved that the vole's adrenal in both sexes may be much more strongly by rise and fall of the fertility as well as by shift of the age structure in populations than the rat's. Therefore, as for perhaps all kinds of small mammals, we consider necessary to follow a pertinent procedure to avoid thoroughly these sources of error in studies to draw any conclusion for or against the Christian's theory. The present data analysed by such a method failed to afford any confirmative proofs; the fact that the pregnancy rate was increased in parallell to the density is against his view. However, never the whole content of the theory has been invalidated by these results.