Abstract
The reproductive biology of the European badger (Meles meles) is of wide interest because it is one of the few mammal species that show delayed implantation and one of only five which are suggested to show superfetation as a reproductive strategy. This study aimed to describe the reproductive biology of female Irish badgers with a view to increasing our understanding of the process of delayed implantation and superfetation. We carried out a detailed histological examination of the reproductive tract of 264 female badgers taken from sites across 20 of the 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland. The key results show evidence of multiple blastocysts at different stages of development present simultaneously in the same female, supporting the view that superfetation is relatively common in this population of badgers. In addition we present strong evidence that the breeding rate in Irish badgers is limited by failure to conceive, rather than failure at any other stages of the breeding cycle. We show few effects of age on breeding success, suggesting no breeding suppression by adult females in this population. The study sheds new light on this unusual breeding strategy of delayed implantation and superfetation, and highlights a number of significant differences between the reproductive biology of female Irish badgers and those of Great Britain and Swedish populations.
Highlights
The reproductive biology of the European badger (Meles meles Linnaeus) is of particular interest because it is one of the 2% of mammalian species that show delayed implantation [1, 2]
The present study aimed to investigate in greater detail than ever before whether the reproductive biology of female Irish badgers was significantly different from that found in other populations, and to look for evidence of superfetation
Juveniles showed ovarian activity that was restricted to the presence of secondary and tertiary follicles, but no corpora lutea and they had an immature uterus
Summary
The reproductive biology of the European badger (Meles meles Linnaeus) is of particular interest because it is one of the 2% of mammalian species that show delayed implantation [1, 2]. Delayed implantation is important because it allows the disassociation of timing of conception from the subsequent births. Superfetation, which is the finding of young at different stages of development within the uterus [3], or superfetation-like conditions have been reported for numerous species including humans, domestic livestock, rodents and mustelids [3]. The badger has been suggested as one of only five eutherian species which shows natural superfetation as a reproductive strategy, the others being American mink (Neovison vison Schreber,), PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0138093. The badger has been suggested as one of only five eutherian species which shows natural superfetation as a reproductive strategy, the others being American mink (Neovison vison Schreber,), PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0138093 October 14, 2015
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