Male voles Arvicola terrestris scherman escaping to seasonal breeding: an example of a disturbance likely induced by environmental change

It revealed that a subpopulation of males did not have a seasonnal behavior and were active during the winter, however with a particular gene expression profile. These males may be at the origin of the spring peaks of reproduction, causing outbreaks of the vole populations.

We hypothesize that climate change, offering warmer winters and better acces to food supply may at the origin of the dysregulation of the circannual biological clocks of these pest rodents.