Anelloviruses are a family of small circular ssDNA viruses with a vast genetic diversity. Human infections with the prototype anellovirus, torque teno virus (TTV), are ubiquitous and related viruses have been described in a number of other mammalian hosts. Despite over 15 years of investigation, there is still little known about the pathogenesis and possible disease associations of anellovirus ...

Studies of cyclic microtine populations (voles and lemmings) have suggested a relationship between the previous year's population density and the subsequent timing of the onset of reproduction by overwintered breeding females. No studies have explored the importance of this relationship in the generation of population cycles. Here we mathematically examine the implications of variation in repro...

Eurasian harvestmen have been introduced to, and have established themselves in North America. Species known to have been introduced include Trogulus tricarinatus (L.) 1767, Paroligolophus agrestis (Meade) 1855, Rilaena triangularis (Herbst) 1799, Oligolophus tridens (C. L. Koch) 1836, and Nemastoma bimaculatum (Fabricius) 1775, for the last of which new Canadian records (Ontario) are given bel...

Ovulation, fertilization and early cleavage have been investigated in few myomorph rodents and in only two members of the family Cricetidae. The Golden hamster (subfamily Cricetinae: Mesocricetus auratus) was studied by Graves (1945), Venable (1946a, b), Ward (1948), Strauss (1956) and Harvey, Yanagimachi & Chang (1961), using fixed and stained materials; and Austin (1956a), Samuel & Hamilton (...

The social organisation of a population of Microtus agrestis was studied by trapping and radiotracking in southern England. There was no significant variation in male home-range size during the breeding season or between years but there was significant variation in core areas between years but not during the breeding season. There was no significant relationship with male density and core area ...

Tularemia outbreaks in humans have been linked to fluctuations in rodent population density, but the mode of bacterial maintenance in nature is unclear. Here we report on an experiment to investigate the pathogenesis of Francisella tularensis infection in wild rodents, and thereby assess their potential to spread the bacterium. We infected 20 field voles (Microtus agrestis) and 12 bank voles (M...

The hobo spider, Tegenaria agrestis (Walckenaer), and the related Tegenaria duellica Simon are very similar European spiders that have become well established in the northwestern United States and British Columbia. The hobo spider is considered to be medically important; T. duellica is considered harmless but is often misidentified as the hobo spider. The current distribution of the hobo spider...

Evolutionary theory predicts that in metapopulations subject to rapid extinction-recolonization dynamics, natural selection should favour evolution of traits that enhance dispersal and recolonization ability. Metapopulations of field voles (Microtus agrestis) on islands in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, are characterized by frequent local extinction and recolonization of subpopulations. Her...