Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2009 number 3

In ten pairs of the red-backed vole, C. rutilus, rearing their first litters, both direct and indirect parental activities were studied under laboratory conditions during the observation period (21 days from parturition) divided into 4 rearing stages: days 2-6, 7-11, 12-16 and 17-21, respectively. There were pronounced sex differences in total time spent in the nest as well as in time spent by adults alone in the nest. Besides, duration of pup grooming by females was much greater than that by males; rates of nest construction and manipulations with nest material were also found to be much greater for females than for males. The rate of paternаl activities in five of ten pairs under study was revealed to be very low, and litters of these pairs actually received a maternal care only. Thus, there are different contributions from C. rutilus females and males into breeding, and this species can be considered as the one with almost exclusively maternal care. These findings are consistent with the published data concerning the use of space and social organization of the red-backed vole. Parental behaviour of C. rutilus is discussed in comparison with that of other arvicoline rodents.