Chapter 11 - Hormones and Reproductive Cycles in Rodents

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the ecological and social factors affecting reproductive cycles in rodents, with concentration on field data and unusual species whenever possible. “Reproductive cycles in rodents” could be interpreted in a number of different ways; it could relate to the female estrous cycle, male reproductive cycles, seasonal breeding, hibernation and emergence, multiannual cycles of animal density, etc. The understanding of how and why these cycles exist requires integration of both ultimate and proximate factors, and many fields including ecology, evolution, natural history, physiology, and neuroscience. The most important ecological cues for mammalian reproduction in the wild are food availability, temperature, rainfall, photoperiodicity, and social factors. Tropical and temperate rodent reproduction might be expected to vary on a number of parameters including cycles, seasonality, hibernation, litter size, etc. However, the variability of reproductive strategies within the tropics is nearly as great as that between tropic and temperate zones, rendering generalizations almost impossible to make.