Water physiology and population dynamics in insular populations of Mastomys huberti in Senegal.
Résumé
During a two-year study of population dynamics, two island populations of M. huberti were shown to display variable survival rates, resulting in a highly fluctuating density on the smaller island whereas immigration processes probably accounted for the relative stability on the other. Water metabolism results indicated that one of the island populations seemed better adapted to water shortage. A halt to growth during the dry season may be a consequence of harsh environmental conditions, but may also enable individual survival adaptation.