Kinship, paternity, and life history of Richardson's ground squirrels

理查森地松鼠的亲属关系、亲子关系和生活史

• 批准号: 2348-2008
• 负责人: Michener, Gail
• 金额: $ 1.29万
• 依托单位: University of Lethbridge
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=497502
• 关键词: Kinship; paternity; life; history; Richardson

Richardson's ground squirrels are medium-sized rodents native to the short and mixed-grass prairies of Canada and adjacent US states. They are an ideal species for behavioural and ecological studies because of their visibility (250-550 g as adults, diurnally active, resident in open habitat), ready habituation to human presence, and predictable annual cycle of events (emergence from hibernation, mating, pregnancy and lactation, pre-hibernation fattening, hibernation). None-the-less, the species is rarely studied and, despite their common characterization as a major agricultural pest, remarkably little is known about mating behaviour, social relationships, and natural causes of mortality.

理查森地松鼠是一种中等大小的啮齿动物，原产于加拿大和邻近的美国各州的短草和混合草原。 它们是行为和生态学研究的理想物种，因为它们的可见性（成年时250-550 g，昼夜活跃，居住在开放的栖息地），对人类存在的适应性，以及可预测的年度事件周期（冬眠，交配，怀孕和哺乳，冬眠前育肥，冬眠）。 尽管如此，该物种很少被研究，尽管它们通常被描述为主要的农业害虫，但对交配行为，社会关系和自然死亡原因知之甚少。