Mammals
Meadow Vole
Microtus pennsylvanicus · also called meadow voles, field mouse
Along a narrow runway worn through dense grass, a meadow vole hurries between its nest and a feeding area, one of an enormous number of individuals whose boom-and-bust population cycles ripple outward to affect nearly every predator across the grassland it calls home.
Overview
The meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, is a small, prolific rodent native to grassland and wetland habitat across a broad range of Canada and the northern and central United States. Its extraordinarily high reproductive rate, dramatic multi-year population cycles, and foundational role as prey for an enormous range of predators make it one of the most ecologically important small mammals in North American grasslands.
A tiny rodent that shapes an entire food web
Few mammals influence as many other species as the meadow vole, whose population booms and crashes ripple outward to affect the fortunes of hawks, owls, foxes, and countless other predators that depend on it as food.
Status
Least Concern, extremely widespread and abundant across suitable grassland and wetland habitat throughout most of North America, with numbers naturally fluctuating in multi-year cycles.
Meadow Vole: common questions
How quickly can meadow voles reproduce?
This species can reproduce at an extraordinarily high rate under favourable conditions, with a single breeding pair theoretically capable of producing well over a million descendants across a single year given ideal survival, though predation and resource limits keep actual populations from reaching such extremes in practice.
Why are meadow vole populations described as boom and bust?
This species is known for dramatic multi-year population cycles, with numbers sometimes increasing rapidly before crashing sharply, a pattern that significantly affects the many predators relying on the meadow vole as a primary food source during both the boom and bust phases.
How can you tell where meadow voles have been active?
This species creates and maintains a visible network of narrow runways through dense grass, worn down by repeated travel between its nest and feeding areas, a distinctive sign of activity even when the animals themselves remain hidden from view.
Do meadow voles stay active during winter?
Yes, this species remains active year-round, including through winter, when it continues to travel and feed within tunnels maintained beneath snow cover rather than hibernating or becoming dormant during the colder months.