Application of Microsatellite Technology in Reproductive Behavior of Plateau Pika,Ochotona curzoniae

From April to August of 2002,we researched the reproductive behaviors of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) in the Haibei Research Station of Alpine Meadow Ecosystem by mark-recapture method and microsatellite technology.Blood samples (each 100 μL) of the marked plateau pikas were collected from suborbital vein.Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were amplified with these blood samples.Results showed that all loci were polymorphic.We identified the kinship of marked individuals by analyzing the polymorphic microsatellite loci combining with the animals behavior,and we found that there existed monogamy,polygamy and promiscuity in the mating system and a hierarchism at the family of the plateau pika.The reproductive success of dominance males was higher than that of subordinate ones.Those indicated that microsatellite technology has an obvious superiority in the field research and is a useful method in the research of plateau pikas ociety dynamic,kinship and behavior evolution.