关键词: 布氏田鼠, 光周期, 成体, 亚成体, 社会行为

Abstract: The patterns differences in behavioral interactions between adult Brandt’s voles (Microtus brandli) acclimated under long photoperiod (LD 14: 10 h light-dark cycle) or short photoperiod (SD 10: 14 h light-dark cycle) and sub-adult ones raised on long or short photoperiod from birth were measured in paired encounters in the cage of the adults. The patterns differences existed in the adult-subadult paired encounters between different photoperiod conditions. Among long photoperiod-paired encounters, intrasexual pairings, particularly adult male, subadult male encounters were more agonistic or fewer amicable acts than intersexual ones. Among short photoperiod pairings, adult male-subadult male, adult female-subadult male and adult female- subadult female were more agonistic than adult male-subadult female paring, and the mean of agonistic acts of adult female-subadult male was more than other adult Subadult pairing, and the counterpart under the long photoperiod. The resultsuggested that photoperiod influenced the social behaviors between adult and sub-adult Brandt’s voles. The present study indicated that agonistic behavior or tolerance by adult may be one of behavior mechanism underlies sub-adult dispersal recruitment and define the composition of over-wintering groups. It, then, regulated the seasonal difference in the structure in colony and spatial pattern of population to facilitated adaptation of Brandt’s voles to seasonally varying environmental condition in natural.

Key words: Brandt's vole (Microtus brandti), Photoperiod, Adult individual, Sub-adult individual, Social behavior