Effect of environment on ovarian activity of wild hopping mice (Notomys alexis).

Abstract

Department of Anatomy, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5001, South Australia It has been shown that laboratory-bred female hopping mice usually cease to have regular 7-9 day oestrous cycles when deprived of water and given only dry seeds as food (Breed, 1975). Body, ovarian and uterine weights tended to be lower, and it was therefore suggested that the availability of water, either free or in plant food, could regulate breeding in this species. This possibility has now been investigated in adult animals caught in the wild and then kept in controlled laboratory conditions. Hopping mice (Notomys alexis) were obtained near Curtin Springs, Northern Territory, between 14 and 17 May 1975. Seven females were killed in the field, and the rest were returned within 3 days to the laboratory in Adelaide where they were randomly allocated to one of the following groups. Group 1 was the control group; the females were kept