@misc{EccardHerde2013,
  author    = {Eccard, Jana and Herde, Antje},
  title     = {Seasonal variation in the behaviour of a short-lived rodent},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401370},
  pages     = {9},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Background: Short lived, iteroparous animals in seasonal environments experience variable social and environmental conditions over their lifetime. Animals can be divided into those with a "young-of-the-year" life history (YY, reproducing and dying in the summer of birth) and an "overwinter" life history (OW, overwintering in a subadult state before reproducing next spring). We investigated how behavioural patterns across the population were affected by season and sex, and whether variation in behaviour reflects the variation in life history patterns of each season. Applications of pace-of-life (POL) theory would suggest that long-lived OW animals are shyer in order to increase survival, and YY are bolder in order to increase reproduction. Therefore, we expected that in winter and spring samples, when only OW can be sampled, the animals should be shyer than in summer and autumn, when both OW and YY animals can be sampled. We studied common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations, which express typical, intra-annual density fluctuation. We captured a total of 492 voles at different months over 3 years and examined boldness and activity level with two standardised behavioural experiments. Results: Behavioural variables of the two tests were correlated with each other. Boldness, measured as short latencies in both tests, was extremely high in spring compared to other seasons. Activity level was highest in spring and summer, and higher in males than in females. Conclusion: Being bold in laboratory tests may translate into higher risk-taking in nature by being more mobile while seeking out partners or valuable territories. Possible explanations include asset-protection, with OW animals being rather old with low residual reproductive value in spring. Therefore, OW may take higher risks during this season. Offspring born in spring encounter a lower population density and may have higher reproductive value than offspring of later cohorts. A constant connection between life history and animal personality, as suggested by the POL theory, however, was not found. Nevertheless, correlations of traits suggest the existence of animal personalities. In conclusion, complex patterns of population dynamics, seasonal variation in life histories, and variability of behaviour due to asset-protection may cause complex seasonal behavioural dynamics in a population.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{HerdeEccard2017,
  author    = {Herde, Antje and Eccard, Jana},
  title     = {Consistency in boldness, activity and exploration at different stages of life},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401395},
  pages     = {10},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Background: Animals show consistent individual behavioural patterns over time and over situations. This phenomenon has been referred to as animal personality or behavioural syndromes. Little is known about consistency of animal personalities over entire life times. We investigated the repeatability of behaviour in common voles (Microtus arvalis) at different life stages, with different time intervals, and in different situations. Animals were tested using four behavioural tests in three experimental groups: 1. before and after maturation over three months, 2. twice as adults during one week, and 3. twice as adult animals over three months, which resembles a substantial part of their entire adult life span of several months. Results: Different behaviours were correlated within and between tests and a cluster analysis showed three possible behavioural syndrome-axes, which we name boldness, exploration and activity. Activity and exploration behaviour in all tests was highly repeatable in adult animals tested over one week. In animals tested over maturation, exploration behaviour was consistent whereas activity was not. Voles that were tested as adults with a three-month interval showed the opposite pattern with stable activity but unstable exploration behaviour. Conclusions: The consistency in behaviour over time suggests that common voles do express stable personality over short time. Over longer periods however, behaviour is more flexible and depending on life stage (i.e. tested before/after maturation or as adults) of the tested individual. Level of boldness or activity does not differ between tested groups and maintenance of variation in behavioural traits can therefore not be explained by expected future assets as reported in other studies.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{FolkertsmaWestburyEccardetal.2018,
  author    = {Folkertsma, Remco and Westbury, Michael V. and Eccard, Jana and Hofreiter, Michael},
  title     = {The complete mitochondrial genome of the common vole, Microtus arvalis (Rodentia: Arvicolinae)},
  series = {Mitochondrial DNA Part B},
  volume    = {3},
  journal   = {Mitochondrial DNA Part B},
  number    = {1},
  issn      = {2380-2359},
  doi       = {10.1080/23802359.2018.1457994},
  pages     = {446 -- 447},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The common vole, Microtus arvalis belongs to the genus Microtus in the subfamily Arvicolinae. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of M. arvalis was recovered using shotgun sequencing and an iterative mapping approach using three related species. Phylogenetic analyses using the sequence of 21 arvicoline species place the common vole as a sister species to the East European vole (Microtus levis), but as opposed to previous results we find no support for the recognition of the genus Neodon within the subfamily Arvicolinae, as this is, as well as the genus Lasiopodomys, found within the Microtus genus.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{FolkertsmaWestburyEccardetal.2018,
  author    = {Folkertsma, Remco and Westbury, Michael V. and Eccard, Jana and Hofreiter, Michael},
  title     = {The complete mitochondrial genome of the common vole, Microtus arvalis (Rodentia: Arvicolinae)},
  series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  journal   = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  number    = {481},
  issn      = {1866-8372},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-412994},
  pages     = {2},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The common vole, Microtus arvalis belongs to the genus Microtus in the subfamily Arvicolinae. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of M. arvalis was recovered using shotgun sequencing and an iterative mapping approach using three related species. Phylogenetic analyses using the sequence of 21 arvicoline species place the common vole as a sister species to the East European vole (Microtus levis), but as opposed to previous results we find no support for the recognition of the genus Neodon within the subfamily Arvicolinae, as this is, as well as the genus Lasiopodomys, found within the Microtus genus.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{SchmidtReilJeskeetal.2021,
  author    = {Schmidt, Sabrina and Reil, Daniela and Jeske, Kathrin and Drewes, Stephan and Rosenfeld, Ulrike and Fischer, Stefan and Spierling, Nastasja G. and Labutin, Anton and Heckel, Gerald and Jacob, Jens and Ulrich, Rainer G. and Imholt, Christian},
  title     = {Spatial and temporal dynamics and molecular evolution of Tula orthohantavirus in German vole populations},
  series = {Viruses / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {Viruses / Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)},
  number    = {6},
  publisher = {MDPI},
  address   = {Basel},
  issn      = {1999-4915},
  doi       = {10.3390/v13061132},
  pages     = {17},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Tula orthohantavirus (TULV) is a rodent-borne hantavirus with broad geographical distribution in Europe. Its major reservoir is the common vole (Microtus arvalis), but TULV has also been detected in closely related vole species. Given the large distributional range and high amplitude population dynamics of common voles, this host-pathogen complex presents an ideal system to study the complex mechanisms of pathogen transmission in a wild rodent reservoir. We investigated the dynamics of TULV prevalence and the subsequent potential effects on the molecular evolution of TULV in common voles of the Central evolutionary lineage. Rodents were trapped for three years in four regions of Germany and samples were analyzed for the presence of TULV-reactive antibodies and TULV RNA with subsequent sequence determination. The results show that individual (sex) and population-level factors (abundance) of hosts were significant predictors of local TULV dynamics. At the large geographic scale, different phylogenetic TULV clades and an overall isolation-by-distance pattern in virus sequences were detected, while at the small scale (<4 km) this depended on the study area. In combination with an overall delayed density dependence, our results highlight that frequent, localized bottleneck events for the common vole and TULV do occur and can be offset by local recolonization dynamics.},
  language  = {en}
}