Body condition and reproductive characteristics of female water voles (Arvicola terrestris L.)

Abstract

The relationship between long-term dynamics of reproductive parameters and body condition were studied in female water voles from a cycling population. Body condition was estimated from the deviation of body weight (excluding the weight of the uterus with embryos) from the theoretically expected weight calculated from the equation of body weight regression with respect to body length. As the index of body condition increases upon transition from decline to peak in the population cycle, the numbers of corpora lutea and live embryos also increase and the risk of resorption of the entire litter becomes lower.