in order to study the ecology of the genius microtus schrank, 1798 (mammalia: rodentia) in nwof iran, three regions including salmas, marand, and moghan were selected. the number of active nests of m. socialis and m. aff. socialis (2n=54) were detected during spring and autumn. in this period, detection were made in three blocks of each location (each one 20×50m) with intervals of one week in 2...

Photoperiod is an important cue regulating biological rhythms in mammals, including 'blind' subterranean and sighted fossorial rodent species. These species may respond differentially to changes in light quality according to their retinal complexity. The effects of increasing light intensity on daily rhythms of urine excretion and urinary output of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels were compared in '...

The effect of diet on barn owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology has been well studied in the temperate regions but not in the more arid Middle East. In temperate regions, barn owls are darker colored and mainly prey upon Cricetidae rodents, whereas in arid regions, they are lighter colored and prey to a larger degree upon Muridae rodents. In this study we analyzed the diet and breeding success of 2...

the northwest iran comprises parts of two major biodiversity hotspots; irano-anatoli and caucasus. it is a mountainous transition realm between caucasus forest in the north, pontic forest of turkey in the west and central deserts of iranian plateau. this study was designed to determine rodent diversity in northwest iran. moreover, corridor and barrier features of the region were investigated, a...

ectoparasites of various species of rodents were examined from sarepole zehab, kermanshah province iran during 2005. this city is bordered with iraq. a total of 139 rodents included 6 species of hosts were captured during all different seasons and examined for ectoparasites using live trap. the area of study was mainly plateu (70%) and mountanous. the hosts including: microtus socialis, mus mus...