Parental care in the captive mandarin vole, Lasiopodomys mandarinus

Abstract

Based on the social structure of free-living mandarin voles (Lasiopodomys mandarinus), high paternal investment might be expected for this species. This prediction was tested under laboratory conditions. We observed 10 pairs rearing their first litter. All pairs exhibited permanent nest cohabitation. Females never prevented males from entering the natal nest. Males exhibited all the patterns of direct care of young except nursing: huddling over, brooding with kyphosis, grooming, manipulating, and retrieving young. There were no sex differences in total time spent in the nest or in time spent alone. Females spent more time grooming pups than did males. There was no sex difference in nest-building activity. The frequency of bringing food or nest material into the nest, as well as in digging time, was significantly greater for males than for females. In L. mandarinus the biparental rearing system with a high level of direct paternal care and some division of labour between the parents seems to be associated with the subterranean mode of life. This pattern of parental care can be predicted for other specialized fossorial voles.