| From March to December, 2001, as a part of new multifactorial hypothesis (NMFH) research of population system regulation in small mammals, our studies were completed at Qingliangfeng National Natural Conserve, Zhejiang province, China. We constructed fences using 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design to examine the effect patterns of food availability, predation and interspecific competition on population dynamics and spatial behavior of reed voles, Microtusfortis. We expected to test two hypothesises: (1) availability of high quality food, predation and interspecific competition have independent and addictive effects on population system dynamics for small mammalia herbivore; (2)availabiliry of high quality food could reduce home range and aggressive behavior level between individuals of microtine, predation and interspecific competition have independent effects on spatial behavior of microtine. Main results are as follows:· Food availability (F=82.10, P =0.000), predation (F=40.40, P =0.000) and interspecific-competition (F=13.86, P =0.010) have extremely significant effects on minimum number known alive (MNKA) of population, while the interaction between food and interspecific competition (F=0.47, P =0.500), food and predation (F=0.950, P =0.33),and the interaction between food, predation and interspecific competition (F=0.076, P =0.78) were not reach significant level, except for the interaction between predation and interspecific competition (F=2.190, P =0.060).· Food availability (F=6.181, P =0.014), predation (F=59.384, P =0.000) and interspecific competition (F=7.450, P =0.000) have extremely significant effects on population recruitment in different treatments. As the same time, the interaction among food availability, predation and interspecific competition has addictive effect on recruitment.· The alternations of food availability, predation and interspecific competition have extremely significant effects on the proportion of young and adult individuals in different treatment populations (G =55.641, df =7, P <0.001). Food availability has infirmness effects on age structure of population, contrasted to the effects of predation, the effects of food availability was not significant (P >0.05) in different combination between predation and interspecific competition.·The result of ANCOVA useing body mass as covairiance suggested that body mass (F =54.228, P =0.000) has extremely significant effect on the growth rate of body mass, at the same time, food availability (F =6.097, P =0.015), predation (F =4.072, P =0.033) and interspecific competition (F =5.310, P =0.024) have significant effects, but the effects of interactions among three factors were not reach significant level, in other words, three factors have addictive effects on age structure of population in different treatments. The result of MANOVA showed that predation has the most intensive effect on survival rate of adult voles (F =288.561, P =0.000), the effect of food availability was in the second place (F =144.198, P =0.000), interspecific competition has significant effect (F =11.022, P =0.012), too. However, the interactions among three factors were not reach significant level. Predation's effect on survival time of young voles was in close to significant level (F =2.496, p =0.116), the effects of food availability (F =0.001, p =0.975) and interspecific competition (F =0.365, p =0.547) were not reach significant level, and the interactions among three factors have addictive effects on survival time of young voles.·There were extremely significant difference on average home range of male and female voles in different treatment populations (t =6.251, P O.001), and the population MNKA were extremely significant correlation with the home range of male voles (r = -0.724, P =0.000) and female voles (r = -0.814, P =0.000). The results of ANCOVA using population MNKA and body mass as covairiance indicated that population MNKA has extremely significant effect on home range of voles (F =18.331, P =0.000),...
|
PDF Full Text Request