Common vole. Vole mouse: what does it look like, what does it eat and how to deal with it? What group does the vole belong to?

Conservation status and conclusion

The common vole is a widespread species, most of whose populations live in different natural areas, are relatively numerous. The reaction to human economic activity is not unambiguous. Agricultural transformation of natural landscapes contributes to an increase in the number of the species. In connection with this feature, it is proposed to call the common vole an agrocenophile (Tupikova et al., 2001). During the years of mass reproduction, it can cause significant damage agriculture, has considerable epidemiological significance, being a carrier of pathogens of tularemia, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis and other diseases dangerous to humans. In this regard, it is necessary to control the number of the species.

Description

The color of the fur of voles can vary significantly from pale fawn-gray to light fawn-brown to darkish gray-brown, sometimes with an admixture of brownish-rusty tones. The abdomen is usually lighter: dirty gray, sometimes with a yellowish-ochre tinge. The tail is either single-colored or weakly two-colored. The dorsal fur of the nominate race is brownish-brown. Voles of the “arvalis” form from central Russia are lighter colored, and the “obscurus” form has the darkest coloring (Ognev, 1950; Malygin, 1983).

Common vole - animal small sizes. Body length is variable. Weight usually does not exceed 45 g. The tail makes up 30-40% of the length of the head and body. The average foot is 15.5 mm. The ears are small, round and slightly protruding from the fur. The average condylobasal length of the skull is 24.5 mm, the zygomatic width is 14.0, the length is the upper row of molars ranges from 5-7 mm, the lower row - 4-6.5 (Ognev, 1950; Malygin, 1983; Meyer et al., 1996). The ridges on the skull are weakly expressed. Upper M2 with two corners protruding inward. The overwhelming majority of M3 individuals have the “typica” variant (Malygin, 1983). Its last posterior lobe does not form a strongly pronounced arcuate bend. The lower M1 has at least 7 closed spaces, rarely - 8. There are 6 calluses on the hind foot (Ognev, 1950).

Spreading

The species' range is extensive: from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Mongolian Altai in the east, from the Baltic Sea, Finland, Karelia, the Middle Urals and Western Siberia in the north to the Balkans, the Black Sea and Asia Minor in the south (Malygin, 1983; Baranovsky et al., 1994; Common vole..., 1994; Meyer et al., 1996). The species is recorded in Transcaucasia and Mongolia. In Russia, the western border of the distribution of the common vole coincides with the state border. In the north of the European part of the country it comes from Karelia and Leningrad region. In the south through Moldova and Ukraine to the north Caspian lowland and the Caucasus.

Biotopes

The range of habitats is varied. The biotopic preference of the common vole can be influenced by various factors. First of all, natural and climatic factors. Thus, on the northern outskirts of its range in the taiga forest zone, the vole (obscurus form) gravitates toward field and meadow cenoses, reaching 49 and 30.2% of the total in them, respectively. general population small mammals. It even settles in areas around livestock farms. According to Bashenina in 1979, 1980 and 1983. in the foothills of the Urals common vole lived in meadows and small agricultural crops, in vegetable gardens, orchards and clearings. It was also found in similar types of biotopes in the Trans-Urals. Avoiding solid forest areas in Western Siberia, the vole is common in sparse birch forests and in thickets of bushes along rivers (Malygin, 1983). But even here, up to the Irkutsk region, it prefers habitats with well-developed grass cover (Bashenina, 1968; Shvetsov et al., 1981). In the more southern part of its range, M. a. obscurus gravitates toward wetter biotopes: floodplain meadows, depressions, ravines, irrigated gardens and vegetable gardens (Common vole..., 1994). However, it is also common here in xerophilic cenoses: dry steppes, fixed sands outside the desert zone (Nikitina et al., 1972; Tikhonov et al., 1996; Tikhonova et al., 1999). In the foothills of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the vole also gravitates towards agricultural lands. In this region, it has mastered the mountain slopes, populating steppe areas, clearings, river valleys, and arable lands. Rises up alpine meadows, also lives in rocky areas. "Mountain" populations of this species are found at an altitude of 1800-3000 m above sea level. m.: in high-mountain subalpine and alpine meadows and mountain oak, beech and hornbeam formations (Common vole..., 1994).

Voles of the "arvalis" form in the very north of the range and in the forest zone demonstrate a biotopic distribution similar to the "obscurus" form, gravitating towards meadow-type cenoses and agricultural lands (Mokeeva, Chentsova, 1981; Dobrokhotov et al., 1985; Teslenko, Zagorodnyuk, 1986 ; Tikhonov et al., 1992; Karaseva et al., 1994; etc.). In the zone deciduous forests and forest-steppe is often found in sparse forest biotopes, along river valleys, ravines, and forest belts.

According to our data, the common vole avoids areas subject to intense anthropogenic load and transformation (Tikhonov et al., 1992; 1996, 1998; Tikhonov and Tikhonova 1997; Tikhonov, 1995).

Ecology

The common vole is an ecologically flexible species. Typically a herbivorous rodent, its diet includes a wide range of foods. According to generalized data, voles from different regions usually eat at least 80 plant species, giving preference to the families of cereals, Asteraceae and legumes (Common vole..., 1994). Characteristic seasonal change feed There is a pronounced tendency to hoard. In France, animals of the "arvalis" form stored up to 3 kg (Renierd, Pussard, 1926). Similar food stores were found among voles in the Leningrad region. (Gladkina, Chentsova, 1971) and on the territory of Kazakhstan (Gladkina, 1972).

The common vole is a family-colonial species. The family, as a rule, consists of a female and her descendants of the 3rd-4th generation (Frank, 1954; Bashenina, 1962). In such settlements, animals dig a complex system of burrows and trample a network of paths. In winter, they make snow nests on the ground. The common vole is characterized by territorial conservatism, but if necessary, during harvesting and plowing fields, it can migrate to other biotopes, including stacks, vegetable and granary stores (Common vole..., 1994).

The species is characterized by seasonal and annual fluctuations in numbers. The minimum level of population abundance was noted in spring time. The features of these fluctuations may also have geographic specificity. In the pessimum of the range, long-term depressions in the number of species are possible. In central Russia they usually alternate with years of high abundance.

Behavior

The ecological features of the common vole determine the ethological structure of its populations. Animals of this species do not form continuous settlements, but live in clearly defined colonies, separated from each other and attached to their family groups (Frank, 1954; Bashenina, 1962). In all parts of its range, the species has polyphasic circadian activity. On average, over a 3-hour period, voles experience 2-4 acts of sleep, 3-9 cleanings, 2-6 nest improvements, from 6 to 20 feedings, and 14-47% of total activity is accounted for by locomotion (walking, jogging) (Common vole ..., 1994; own data).

The pronounced territoriality of voles is also reflected in their social behavior. Intragroup interactions of animals are reduced mainly to simple identification contacts, somewhat less often - friendly ones (Zorenko, 1978, 1984; own data). An important element social behavior, indicating the tolerance of individuals to each other, is crowding. Common voles can be aggressive towards members of their group. Most often this form of behavior is demonstrated by males. The most acute manifestation of aggression is towards foreign individuals of the same species and, especially, towards Eastern European voles (even to the point of killing). Common voles are very emotional. We have noted cases of death of animals due to nervous overstrain during aggressive interactions.

Animals of this species are very cautious and tend to be neophobic (Common vole..., 1994; Fedorovich et al., 2000). Under experimental conditions, during orientation-exploratory activities, common voles relied more on the sense of smell and less on the vibrissal sense of touch and vision (own data).

Reproduction

Depending on weather conditions in different regions of Russia, the reproductive period of common voles usually begins in March-April and ends in September-November (Common vole..., 1994; Tikhonova, Tikhonov, 1995; Tikhonov et al., 1998). In winter there is usually a pause. But in closed habitats (stacks, stacks, vegetable and granary warehouses), reproduction can continue even in winter time. During the reproductive season in nature, females of the common vole can bring 2-4 broods, in laboratory conditions - more (Common vole..., 1994; Gladkina, 1996). The size of the litter depends on a number of reasons: age and physical condition females, season, living conditions, mating patterns and much more (Zorenko, 1972; Zorenko, Zakharov, 1986). According to combined data, the average number of cubs in a litter of a common vole is about 5 (Obyknovennaya vole..., 1994). A study of the breeding strategy of this species showed that its natural populations are dependent on the size of the broods (Tikhonov et al., 1999).

Introduction

Common vole ( Microtus arvalis) - a species of rodents of the genus gray voles.

1. Appearance

The animal is small in size; body length is variable, 9-14 cm. Weight usually does not exceed 45 g. The tail makes up 30-40% of the body length - up to 49 mm. The color of the fur on the back can vary from light brown to dark gray-brown, sometimes mixed with brownish-rusty tones. The abdomen is usually lighter: dirty gray, sometimes with a yellowish-ochre coating. The tail is either single-colored or weakly two-colored. The lightest colored voles are from central Russia. There are 46 chromosomes in the karyotype.

2. Distribution

Distributed in biocenoses and agrocenoses of forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones mainland Europe from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Mongolian Altai in the east. In the north, the border of the range runs along the coast of the Baltic Sea, southern Finland, southern Karelia, the Middle Urals and Western Siberia; in the south - along the Balkans, the Black Sea coast, Crimea and northern Asia Minor. It is also found in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, in Northern Kazakhstan, in the southeast of Central Asia, and in Mongolia. Found in the Orkney Islands.

3. Lifestyle

In its vast range, the vole gravitates mainly to field and meadow cenoses, as well as to agricultural lands, vegetable gardens, orchards, and parks. Avoids continuous forest areas, although it is found in clearings, clearings and edges, in open forests, in riverine thickets of bushes, and forest belts. Prefers places with well-developed grass cover. In the southern part of its range, it gravitates towards wetter biotopes: floodplain meadows, ravines, river valleys, although it is also found in dry steppe areas, on fixed sands outside deserts. In the mountains it rises to subalpine and alpine meadows at an altitude of 1800-3000 m above sea level. Avoids areas subject to intense anthropogenic pressure and transformation.

In warm weather, it is active mainly at dusk and at night; in winter, activity is around the clock, but intermittent. Lives in family colonies, usually consisting of 1-5 related females and their offspring of 3-4 generations. The home ranges of adult males occupy 1200-1500 m² and cover the home ranges of several females. In their settlements, voles dig a complex system of burrows and trample a network of paths, which in winter turn into snow passages. Animals rarely leave paths, which allow them to move faster and navigate more easily. The depth of the burrows is small, only 20-30 cm. The animals protect their territory from alien individuals of their own and other species of voles (even to the point of killing). During periods of high abundance, colonies of several families often form in grain fields and other feeding areas.

The common vole is distinguished by territorial conservatism, but if necessary, during harvesting and plowing fields, it can move to other biotopes, including stacks, stacks, vegetable and granary warehouses, and sometimes to human residential buildings. In winter, it makes nests under the snow, woven from dry grass.

The vole is a typically herbivorous rodent whose diet includes a wide range of foods. Seasonal changes in diet are typical. In the warm season, it prefers the green parts of cereals, asteraceae and legumes; occasionally eats mollusks, insects and their larvae. In winter, it gnaws the bark of bushes and trees, including berries and fruits; eats seeds and underground parts of plants. Makes food reserves reaching 3 kg.

3.1. Reproduction

The common vole breeds throughout the warm season - from March-April to September-November. In winter there is usually a pause, but in closed places (stacks, stacks, outbuildings), if there is sufficient food, it can continue to reproduce. In one reproductive season, a female can bring 2-4 broods, a maximum of 7 in the middle zone, and up to 10 in the south of the range. Pregnancy lasts 16-24 days. A litter averages 5 cubs, although their number can reach 15; the cubs weigh 1-3.1 g. Young voles become independent on the 20th day of life. They begin to reproduce at 2 months of life. Sometimes young females become pregnant already on the 13th day of life and bring the first brood at 33 days.

The average life expectancy is only 4.5 months; By October, most voles die; the young of the last litters overwinter and begin breeding in the spring. Voles are one of the main food sources for a variety of predators - owls, kestrels, weasels, stoats, ferrets, foxes and wild boars.

4. Conservation status

The common vole is a widespread and numerous species that easily adapts to economic activity people and the transformation of natural landscapes. The number, like that of many fertile animals, fluctuates greatly between seasons and years. Characteristic outbreaks of numbers followed by long-term depressions. In general, the fluctuations appear to be on a 3- or 5-year cycle. In years of greatest abundance, population density can reach 2000 individuals per hectare, while in years of depression it drops to 100 individuals per hectare.

It is one of the most serious pests of agriculture, gardening and horticulture, especially during years of mass reproduction. It damages grain and other standing crops and in stacks, and gnaws the bark of fruit trees and shrubs. It is the main natural carrier of plague pathogens in Transcaucasia, as well as pathogens of tularemia, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis and other diseases dangerous to humans.

The wood vole is a small mouse-like rodent that is related to the hamster.

Forest voles represent an important link the food chain, since a huge number of predators feed on them.

Description of the forest vole

The body length of the forest vole is 8-11 centimeters, weight ranges from 17 to 35 grams. The length of the tail is 2.5-6 centimeters. The auricles of forest voles are practically invisible. Their eyes are small.

The color of the back is red-orange or rusty orange. And the belly is white or gray. In winter, hair becomes thicker and redder. Distinctive feature What differentiates forest voles from other species is that their molars have roots. They have 56 chromosomes.

Lifestyle of forest voles

The presence of a huge number of enemies among forest voles has made these animals very secretive. During the day they hide in their burrows, under snags, between roots, under fallen leaves. And at night they go out in search of food. They live from 5 months to 1 year. They are active all year round.

Forest voles are difficult to spot, but there are many of these animals. Forest voles live in North America and Eurasia. In North America they live in the Carolinas, Colorado, British Columbia, Labrador, and Alaska.

They are distributed everywhere - in deciduous forests, in the taiga, in the fields. Even in a city park at night you can hear the rustling of leaves and quiet fuss; these are forest voles. They also live in swampy areas of the forest-tundra. They can climb mountains to a height of up to 3 thousand meters.

Forest Vole Survival Tools

Nature has not equipped voles with sharp teeth, large claws, or muscular legs, but these animals have found a way to survive - they are extremely fertile.

Every year, forest voles give birth to 3-4 offspring.

At one time, a vole gives birth to about 11 babies. Already at 1.5 months, young voles are also ready to reproduce.

One pair of these rodents reproduces up to 1000 times throughout their life, bringing into the world an entire army. This is one of the most the best means survival.

Diet of forest voles

The diet of forest voles consists of plant foods. Seeds, tree buds, grass, berries, nuts, and mushrooms are used. And in winter they eat bark and lichens. Forest voles crush rough food with their large front teeth, which wear down quite quickly. However, front teeth grow throughout life.

Voles, like other rodents, are voracious. They do not hibernate, so they have to make provisions for the winter.

Each vole collects up to 500 grams of seeds.

They crawl into barns and visit grain fields, causing significant damage to agriculture.

But without forest voles, birds of prey would die of hunger. And birds destroy harmful insects. Therefore, by giving part of the harvest to voles, people save a large share from insect pests.

Forest voles are an important food source for fur-bearing animals, especially martens.

Types of forest voles

There are 13 species in the genus of forest voles, including bank voles, red-gray voles, red-backed voles and Tien Shan voles.

Bank vole or the European forest vole does not exceed 11.5 centimeters in length, its weight is 17-35 centimeters. Its back is rusty brown and its belly is greyish. The tail is two-colored - dark on top and whitish below.

Bank voles live in the mountain forests of Europe, Siberia and Asia Minor. They live in broad-leaved and mixed forests, giving preference to linden-oak plantations. They live alone, but in winter they can gather in groups. The bank vole is a numerous species.

The red-backed vole reaches a length of approximately 13.5 millimeters, and its weight ranges from 20 to 50 grams. Top part The body of this vole is red-brown, the belly is light gray, and the sides are gray-blue. These rodents live in China, Japan, Finland, Mongolia, Sweden, Norway and Russia. They settle in birch and coniferous forests.

Vole family (Microtidae).

In Belarus it is distributed throughout the entire territory. Common, locally abundant species.

Until recently, the common vole was considered a widespread polytypic species with a wide range. It turned out that the common vole sensu lato consists of at least 5 independent species, but similar in morphological characteristics and biology. On the territory of Belarus there are 2 such twin species: 46 and 54 chromosome voles. The first was named the common vole - Microtus arvalis. The second, 54-chromosome, is the Eastern European vole - Microtus rossiaemeridiaonalis.

The boundaries of the range of M. arvalis sensu stricto need clarification. The territory of Belarus is included in the range of both species. Proven findings of M. arvalis sensu stricto in Belarus are known in the Pinsk district of the Brest region, Vitebsk district of the Vitebsk region, Minsk and Stolbtsy districts of the Minsk region, Lida district of the Grodno region. The cohabitation of “twin” species has been established.

It is similar in appearance to a mouse, but has shorter ears, a tail and a compact build. Length: body 8.5-12.3 cm, tail 2.8-4.5 cm, feet 1.3-1.8 cm, ear 0.8-1.5 cm. Body weight 14-51 g. Individuals M. arvalis sensu stricto from Belarus varies in size. Body length in small forms is up to 100 mm, in large ones up to 135. Tail length in small ones is up to 34, large ones up to 51 mm. On average 33-37% of body length. The predominant color of the upper body is gray, brown and reddish shades may be observed. The number of plantar tubercles is 6, sometimes 5. The intraspecific taxonomy is quite confusing, especially in the central part of the range, and needs further study.

16 teeth. Unlike forest voles, the teeth do not have roots.

The color of the summer fur on the back and sides is gray-brown with a faint brownish tint, the belly is dirty whitish. Occasionally lighter specimens are also found. Their general coloration is brownish-gray, their abdomen is whitish with a faint yellowish tinge. The tail is one-color or slightly two-color.

By external signs from M. rosiaemeridionalis is not reliably identified. It differs from other voles of the genus Microtus by the presence on the outer side of the first molar tooth of the lower jaw of 4 protruding corners and on the chewing surface of this tooth by seven loops separated from each other.

In general, in Belarus the common vole sensu lato is found almost everywhere and is abundant everywhere. It lives in different habitats, but prefers open meadows, treeless spaces, especially agricultural lands. Agricultural lands on reclaimed lands are most intensively populated by the common vole, where the banks of all types of reclamation canals are the main habitats for breeding and survival of the vole. In places it is numerous, especially in meadows, areas with sown grass, clearings among shrubs, clearings, and gardens. It is rare in mature deciduous and pine forests and completely absent in spruce forests. In winter, it can be found in stacks, stacks, piles of potatoes, gardens, and human buildings. The attraction to open biotopes is a feature of the common vole sensu stricto, while the Eastern European vole gravitates to sparse forests or clearings surrounded by massifs, a mosaic forest-field landscape.

Lives in burrows of varying complexity and depth depending on living conditions. Burrows are made on roadsides, boundaries, wastelands, and the banks of reclamation canals. On open places burrows are located at a depth of 10-30 cm, in the arable layer no deeper than 50-60 cm (maximum up to 70 cm). The depth at which the gray vole nests depends significantly on the season, vegetation cover, and the nature of the relief.

In places of settlement it forms peculiar colonies. Each burrow has several chambers (for nesting and for food supplies) and exit holes. Several burrows extend from the nesting chamber in different directions, some of them open with exits to the surface of the earth, and some end in dead ends, probably hiding places. The nesting chamber has the shape of an elongated ball with a diameter of 8-10 cm, Savitsky et al. (2005) indicate 14-16 cm. The nest is built from cereals thinly split along the stems. Very dry. The inner part is completely lined with pieces of leaves, stems of cereals, and Asteraceae down. The exits from the burrows and feeding areas are connected by paths. Under favorable conditions, the same burrows are used for several years, which leads to their maximum complexity. A vole sometimes digs a hole from different ends, and quite accurately leads one hole to another. Winter burrows are made between the ground and snow; When the snow melts, they remain in the form of characteristic “earthen sausages.”

The mobility of the vole is low: daily feeding movements are carried out within a radius of 15-20 m. The young remain to live next to their parents. Voles have a well-developed “home instinct”: animals caught and carried at a distance of up to 2.5 km are able to return to family of origin. Migration of animals can only occur in the absence of food. This usually happens on arable land after harvesting. The animals swim well.

The vole is one of the herbivorous rodents; its food range is very diverse. Green parts of plants make up 88%, seeds of cultivated plants - 35.1%, wild plants - 27.3%. In spring and summer these are young shoots of plants: mainly cereals and asteraceae. In autumn, berries predominate, in winter - seeds and tree bark, green or dry vegetative parts of plants. The set of food plants is determined by the composition of the soil and the area where the vole lives. On average, per day the animal eats an amount of food equal to 50-70% of its body weight. The instinct to store food is very poorly developed.

Voles reproduce from April to October. In the southwestern part of Belarus, in normal seasons, it begins breeding in the first ten days of April. Environmentally favorable years 10-15 days earlier, in unfavorable days - the same period later, in the central part of the country 5-7 days later. Only in places with an abundance of high-calorie food (in haystacks, straw stacks) does this cycle continue in winter. Females reach sexual maturity at the age of 20-30 days with a body weight of 12 to 20 g. Males become sexually mature at the age of 30-45 days with a body weight of 18-25 g. The duration of pregnancy is slightly more than 20 days. During a season, a female can bring up to 5 litters of 2-9 cubs (usually 4-6). IN natural conditions the female manages to have no more than 4 broods, more often 1-3, which is associated with a total life expectancy of no more than 8-10 months. By September, overwintered (last year's) animals make up no more than 5% of the population. The first two generations of the current year begin to reproduce in July - August, managing to produce 1-2 litters per season. The weight of the naked and blind cubs born is 1.2-2.3 g, body length 34-39 mm. They grow very quickly. By 10 days of age, the weight reaches 6-8 g, the body is completely covered with fur, the eyes open, the animals begin to move freely and independently obtain food, and at the age of 3 weeks they are capable of settling.

Adult voles often live in pairs, with the male also taking care of the offspring. A female can show “collectivism”: feed and raise newborns in her own and someone else’s nest, or 2 females can bring offspring into one nest. Males are polygamous.

The common vole plays a significant role in nutrition carnivorous mammals. In the diet of owls (long-eared owl, gray owl) this is the absolutely dominant group. In the Brest and Grodno regions, it makes up 64.89% of occurrences in the diet of these birds, which is 3.5 times more than the share of the three subdominant food items combined.

The common vole is a major and very serious pest of agricultural crops. It eats almost all cultivated plants. First of all, crops of perennial grasses are damaged - clover, alfalfa, grass mixtures; legumes - peas, vetch; grains - wheat, rye, oats and, to a lesser extent, barley. By autumn, vole populations reach high numbers and are capable of destroying a significant portion of the crop. In meadows where vole colonies are located, the grass is almost completely destroyed, and the piles of earth that the animals throw out when digging holes make it difficult to mechanized grass harvesting. In gardens under the snow, voles eat the bark and roots at the base fruit trees. Settling in the basements of residential buildings, they damage stocks of grain, root crops, cabbage, and potatoes. Animals can be a source of human infection with tularemia, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and swine erysipelas.

Common voles live for 8-9 months; individuals under the age of 14 months and older are rarely found in nature.

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Appearance

Spreading

Distributed in biocenoses and agrocenoses of forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones of mainland Europe from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Mongolian Altai in the east. In the north, the border of the range runs along the coast of the Baltic Sea, southern Finland, southern Karelia, the Middle Urals and Western Siberia; in the south - along the Balkans, the Black Sea coast, Crimea and the north of Asia Minor. It is also found in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, in Northern Kazakhstan, in the southeast of Central Asia, and in Mongolia. Found on the Korean Islands.

Lifestyle

The common vole is distinguished by territorial conservatism, but if necessary, during harvesting and plowing fields, it can move to other biotopes, including haystacks, stacks, vegetable and granary warehouses, and sometimes to human residential buildings. In winter, it makes nests under the snow, woven from dry grass.

The vole is a typically herbivorous rodent whose diet includes a wide range of food. Seasonal changes in diet are typical. In the warm season, it prefers the green parts of cereals, asteraceae and legumes; occasionally eats mollusks, insects and their larvae. In winter, it gnaws the bark of bushes and trees, including berries and fruits; eats seeds and underground parts of plants. Makes food reserves reaching 3 kg.

Reproduction

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