Climate, trophic factors, and breeding patterns of the Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus solatus): a 5-year study in the Sahelian region of Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta)

Abstract

From 1984 to 1989, five populations of the Nile grass rat, Arvicanthis niloticus solatus, living in five different habitats of the Sahelian region were studied in northern Burkina Faso (Oursi, 14°N). The following were investigated: (i) seasonal variations in the percentages of sexually active males and females and the percentage of the population less than 6 weeks old, and (ii) seasonal variations in testis and seminal vesicle masses and plasma testosterone levels in adults. Both the large form of A. niloticus occupying habitats with stable trophic resources and the small form of the species occupying habitats with fluctuating resources showed seasonal breeding, mainly in the dry season, in contrast with what we have observed elsewhere in other species in this region. In dry years with normal rainfall (rains between June and September), breeding occurred from mid-October to mid-July in habitats with constant trophic resources and from mid-October to mid-April in habitats with fluctuating resources. In 1986, a year with exceptional rainfall (additional rains in January), breeding was continuous in habitats where this climatic disturbance caused a reappearance of primary production and there was a population outbreak of A. n. solatus. Relationships between (i) breeding cycles, (ii) long-day periods, which have a gonadoinhibitory effect, (iii) seasonal variations in relative humidity and temperature, and (iv) dietary characteristics of A. n. solatus suggest that this subspecies is capable of breeding throughout the year. This is due to its adaptable dietary habits, which allow it to take advantage of resources that are either constant (insects, harvest wastes, and the water-rich bark of certain woody plants) or seasonal (rain-dependent herbaceous plants and farm vegetables). The end of breeding appears to be related to the relative timing of the stimulatory effect of certain foods and the inhibitory effects of photoperiod, temperature, and humidity. Under this hypothesis, the gonadoinhibitory effect of long days was masked in 1986 by an earlier stimulatory effect related to the reappearance of vegetation following the exceptionally heavy rainfall in January.