vole

Vole
The bank vole lives in woodland areas in Europe and Asia.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Arvicolinae in part
Genera
Arvicola Lagurus Microtus Myodes Phenacomys Pliomys

A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, and smaller ears and eyes. There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America. Vole species form the subfamily Arvicolinae with the lemmings and the muskrats.

Description

Voles are small rodents that grow to 4-8 inches depending on species. They can have 5-10 litters per year. Gestation takes for 3 weeks and the young voles reach sexual maturity in a month. Needless to say, vole populations can rapidly grow from one or two to many within a very short period of time. Since litters average 5-10 young, a single vole in the yard can become 50 or more in less then a year.

Voles are commonly mistaken for other small animals. Moles, gophers, mice, rats and even shrews have similar characteristics and behavioral tendencies. Since voles will commonly use burrows with many exit holes, they can be mistaken for gophers or some kind of ground squirrel. Voles can create and will often times utilize old abandoned mole tunnels thus confusing the land owner into thinking that moles are active. When voles find their way into the home, they are readily identified as mice or young rats. In fact, voles are unique and best described as being a little bit like all the other animals they are so commonly thought to be.

Like moles, they will readily thrive on small insects. Like shrews they will eat dead animals and like mice or rats, they can live on most any nut or fruit. Additionally, voles will target plants more then most other small animals. It is here where there presence is mostly evident. Voles will readily "girdle" or eat the bark of small trees and ground cover much like a porcupine. This girdling can easily kill small, young plants and is not healthy for trees or other shrubs.

Voles love to eat succulent root systems and will burrow under plants or ground cover they are particularly fond of and literally eat away till the plant is dead. Bulbs in the ground are another favorite target for voles; their excellent burrowing and tunneling will give them access to sensitive areas without clear or early warning. It is far too common to learn you have a vole problem only after the extent of their damage and feeding is mapped out on your landscaping in the form of dead plants.^[1]

Range

Species of voles can be found in Europe, Asia, North Africa and North America, and tundra areas.

Diet

Depending on the species, the vole's diet consists of seeds, tubers, conifer needles, bark, various green vegetation such as grass and clover, and insects. Some species will die, however, if deprived of their main meal, Douglas Fir needles, for too long.^{[citation needed]}

Predators

Many predators such as martens, raccoons, owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, snakes, the red tailed hawk, weasels and cats eat voles. A common predator of voles is the short-eared owl as well as the northern spotted owl, the Saw-whet Owl, the barn Owl, and the Northern Pygmy Owl.^{[citation needed]}

Lifespan

The average life of a vole is 3–6 months. Voles rarely live longer than 12 months. The longest lifespan of a vole ever recorded was 18 months.^{[citation needed]}

Genetics and sexual behavior

The prairie vole is a notable animal model for sexual fidelity, since the male is usually faithful to the female, and shares in the raising of pups. (The woodland vole is also usually monogamous.) Another species from the same genus, the meadow vole, has promiscuously mating males, and scientists have changed adult male meadow voles' behavior to resemble that of prairie voles in experiments in which a single gene was introduced into the brain via a virus.^{[citation needed]} The behavior is influenced by the number of repetitions of a particular string of microsatellite ("junk") DNA, and the same DNA sequence is found in humans. Male prairie voles with the longest DNA strings spend more time with their mates and pups than male prairie voles with shorter strings.^[2] However, other workers have disputed the gene's relationship to monogamy, and cast doubt on whether the human version plays an analogous role.^[3] Physiologically, pair-bonding behavior has been shown to be tied up with vasopressin, dopamine, and oxytocin, with the genetic influence apparently arising via the number receptors for these substances in the brain; the pair-bonding behavior has also been shown in experiments to be strongly modifiable by administering some of these substances directly.

Voles exhibit complex genetic structures with much variation, and appear to be evolving rapidly when compared with other vertebrates. For this reason, they can be useful to archaeologists for dating strata, in a method referred to as the "vole clock."

Voles have a number of unusual chromosomal traits. Species have been found with anywhere from 17-64 chromosomes, and in some species males and females have different chromosome numbers. Female voles have been found with chromosomes from both sexes, and in one species the sex chromosomes contain 20% of the genome. All of these variations result in very little physical aberration: most vole species are virtually indistinguishable.^[4]

Vole clock

The Vole clock is a method of dating archaeological strata. Investigations at sites across Europe have allowed construction of a detailed framework of how different vole species evolved over the last million years, and where and when specific species became extinct.

For many sites it is considered the most accurate way of dating, and also provides information on the climate and local environment. ^[5]

Classification

This section requires expansion.

• Order Rodentia
  • Superfamily Muroidea
    • Family Cricetidae
      • Subfamily Arvicolinae (in part)
        • Tribe Arvicolini
          • Genus Arvicola - water voles
          • Genus Blanfordimys - Afghan vole and Bucharian vole
          • Genus Chionomys - snow voles
          • Genus Lasiopodomys
          • Genus Lemmiscus - sagebrush vole
          • Genus Microtus - voles
          • Genus Neodon - mountain voles
          • Genus Phaiomys
          • Genus Proedromys - Duke of Bedford's vole
          • Genus Volemys
        • Tribe Ellobiusini - mole voles
          • Genus Ellobius - mole voles
        • Tribe Lagurini
          • Genus Lagurus - steppe vole
        • Tribe Myodini
          • Genus Alticola - voles from Central Asia
          • Genus Caryomys
          • Genus Eothenomys - voles from East Asia
          • Genus Hyperacrius - voles from Pakistan
          • Genus Myodes - red-backed voles
        • Tribe Pliomyini
          • Genus Dinaromys - voles from the Dinaric Alps
        • incertae sedis
          • Genus Arborimus - tree voles
          • Genus Phenacomys - heather voles

References

1. ^ http://www.rodentcontrol.com.com
2. ^ Hammock and Young,Science. 2005 Jun 10;308(5728):1630-4, summarized at New York Times, June 10, 2005, "DNA of Voles May Hint at Why Some Fathers Shirk Duties."
3. ^ S. Fink et al., PNAS, July 18, 2006, vol. 103, no. 29, 10956-10960
4. ^ Rodent's bizarre traits deepen mystery of genetics, evolution Accessed February 25, 2007
5. ^ Use of Vole Clock on C4's Time TeamAccessed May 16, 2009

External links

• Voles.com, pictures and information about voles and vole related topics
• Pest control article
• National Geographic video.
• Use of Vole Clock on C4's Time Team