Beach vole

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Beach vole

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Microtus
Species:
M. breweri
Binomial name
Microtus breweri
Baird, 1858
Synonyms
  • Microtus pennsylvanicus breweri
  • Arvicola breweri

The beach vole (Microtus breweri) or Muskeget vole is a

endemic to the 0.87 km2 Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. Due to its relatively short period of reproductive isolation, there is debate over the beach vole's designation as a subspecies
of M. pennsylvanicus.

Taxonomy

Microtus breweri is currently recognized by the IUCN, NatureServe and ITIS[3] as a distinct species, due to its larger size, geographic isolation, and contrasting mating habits.[4] A recent genetic study indicates that it may be a basal subspecies of M. pennsylvanicus.[5]

Description

Beach voles are typically much larger than meadow voles. On average, male beach voles are 192.9 mm long, ranging between 169 and 215 mm; with the tail making up approximately one-fourth of the total length.[4] Generally, females are smaller, with an average length of 181.2 mm, ranging between 165 and 201 mm.[4] The weight of a beach vole ranges between 29 and 79 g, proportional to age, with females weighing less than males.[4]

Compared to meadow voles, beach voles exhibit a lower metabolism, and their coat is made up of more guard hairs and fewer underhairs.[4] A white blaze can often be found on the chin or forehead.

The

orbits
.

Beach voles tend closer towards K selection than meadow voles, and some of their distinctive features are indicative of island gigantism.

Distribution

Microtus breweri can only be found on Muskeget Island, off the west coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in the United States. However, historically it was also found on nearby South Point and Adams Islands, which are sometimes considered as a part of Muskeget Island, but are no longer above

Gerrit S. Miller, Outram Bangs
, and Chas F. Batchelder in 1893 from a colony captured on South Point Island. Moreover, Muskeget Island has moved about 1,000 feet eastwardly over the last about 200 years, along with its changing process of shape, size and position due to erosion and tidal buildup.[6]

Habitat and diet

These voles dominate an open habitat of

larvae. Their predators include birds of prey such as the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) and the northern harrier (Circus hudsonius). Cats were introduced onto Muskeget in the late 1800s, decimating the vole's population, but are no longer present. Their home range is usually less than one acre.[6][7]

Reproduction and behavior

Young beach voles are born in the

nests, underneath fragments of wreckage, or at the base of goldenrod (Solidago sp.). They do not demonstrate a typical vole breeding cycle, and show many of the attributes of a K-selected organism, such as large size, later age at maturation, sex ratio weighted towards the males, and low reproductive output.[8] The adults can breed from the spring to the fall, and their gestation lasts for about one month. Every year, an individual female beach vole typically produces two litters of three to five offspring, but most will live for less than one year.[6]

The beach voles have a habit of building runways above or in the ground under the beach grass, in order to better stay hidden from aerial predators. These runways may contain cut grass. During winter, underground tunnels become more common due to the cold weather.[8]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T13417A22349291.en
    . Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Microtus breweri. NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Microtus breweri (Baird, 1857)". ITIS. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  5. ISSN 0022-2372
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780842201858
    . Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  7. JSTOR 1935083
    .
  8. ^
    PMID 336824
    .

Further reading

  • Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beach_vole&oldid=1219413015"