Dental radiography as a low-invasive field technique to estimate age in small rodents, with the mole voles (Ellobius) as an example

Abstract

AbstractMost studies which deal with natural populations require a reliable and convenient way of age estimation. However, even rough aging of live individuals is often a real challenge. In this study, we develop a radiographic method of age estimation inEllobius talpinus, a promising model species for population and behavioral ecology. Using a portable X-ray equipment, we radiographed wild, non-sedated animals from the population that had been subjected to extensive mark-recaptures for 3 years. Two molar metrics strongly dependent on age and easy to measure on radiographs were selected: the lengths of synclinal folds of the 1stupper and 1stlower molars. No influence of sex on the molar condition age dynamics was found. Discriminant function analysis based on molar condition and date of radiography in 86 animals of known age classes assigned X-ray images to three age classes (young of the year, yearlings, and 2 years or older) with an accuracy of 99%. Leave-one-out cross-validation yielded 97% of correct assignments. All age estimates for 52 repeatedly radiographed individuals were consistent across images. The analysis of the repeated X-ray images obtained from the same animals showed that 1stlower molars change faster in the first summer of life than later whereas the change rate of the 1stupper molars decreases little throughout life. We propose X-ray technique as a useful alternative to direct skull and dental morphometry for age estimation of wild small mammals, saving the investigator’s time and lives of animals.