Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Northern bog lemming
Northern bog lemming
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Synaptomys borealis
Conservation Status
Heritage
G Rank: G4
Agency
USFWS/NOAA:
BLM:
AA:
S Rank: S4
SOA: Species of Greatest Conservation Need
USFS:
IUCN: Least Concern
Final Rank
Conservation category: V. Orange
V = unknown status and either high biological vulnerability or high action need
Category
Status:
Range
-20 to 20
Score
Biological:
-50 to 50
-37.2
Action:
-40 to 40
20
0
Higher numerical scores denote greater concern
Status - variables measure the trend in a taxon’s population status or distribution. Higher status scores denote taxa with
known declining trends. Status scores range from -20 (increasing) to 20 (decreasing).
Score
Population Trend (-10 to 10)
0
Unknown.
Distribution Trend (-10 to 10)
0
Unknown
Status Total:
Biological - variables measure aspects of a taxon’s distribution, abundance and life history. Higher biological scores suggest
greater vulnerability to extirpation. Biological scores range from -50 (least vulnerable) to 50 (most vulnerable).
Population Size (-10 to 10)
0
Score
0
Population size unknown, uncommon (NatureServe 2007b).
Range Size (-10 to 10)
-10
South of Brooks Range throughout Alaska except the Aleutian Islands and most of insular Alaska (Hall 1981). Found on
Wrangell, Betton, Back, Gravina, Hinchinbrook Islands (MacDonald et al. 2003). >400,000 km2.
Population Concentration (-10 to 10)
-10
Found in small colonies (NatureServe 2007b). >250 sites.
Reproductive Potential
Age of First Reproduction (-5 to 5)
-5
Unknown
Number of Young (-5 to 5)
-2.2
Litter size is 2-8 (average 4; NatureServe 2007b). Average 3 litters per year (Whitney 1994).
Ecological Specialization
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Northern bog lemming
Dietary (-5 to 5)
-5
Feeds on grasses, sedges, and other herbaceous vegetation (NatureServe 2007b).
Habitat (-5 to 5)
-5
Restricted to open habitats with an abundance of grasses, sedges, mosses, and low shrubs (Banfield 1974). Sphagnum bogs,
wet meadows, moist mixed and coniferous forests; alpine sedge meadows, krummholz spruce-fir forest with dense
herbaceous and mossy understory, mossy streamsides (Clough and Albright 1987). Occupies burrow systems up to 1 foot
deep and surface runways. Young are born in nests that may be underground or on the surface in concealing vegetation
(NatureServe 2007b). In Alaska, occupy cold bog or spring areas mostly in boreal forests, but can also be found near rocky
cliffs (Whitney 1994, MacDonald et al. 2003).
Biological Total: -37.2
Action - variables measure current state of knowledge or extent of conservation efforts directed toward a given taxon. Higher
action scores denote greater information needs due of lack of knowledge or conservation action. Action scores range
from -40 (lower needs) to 40 (greater needs).
Management Needs (-10 to 10)
Score
10
No direct management.
Monitoring Needs (-10 to 10)
10
Unknown
Research Needs (-10 to 10)
10
Unknown.
Survey Needs (-10 to 10)
-10
641 specimen records throughout range within Alaska (Arctos 2007).
Action Total:
20
Supplemental Information - variables do not receive numerical scores. Instead, they that are used to sort taxa to answer specific
biological or managerial questions.
Harvest:
Not substantial
Seasonal Occurrence:
Year-round
Taxonomic Significance:
Monotypic species
% Global Range in Alaska:
>10%
% Global Population in Alaska:
<25%
Peripheral:
No
Range Map
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Northern bog lemming
References
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). 2007a. 2007-2008 Alaska hunting regulations: fur animals, small game,
unclassified game and deleterious exotic wildlife.
ARCTOS, University of Alaska Museum of the North. 2007. ARCTOS database: Fish, amphibian, mammal, bird and
reptile collections. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK. Available online at
http://arctos.database.museum/SpecimenSearch.cfm. Accessed 14Feb2007.
Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
Clough, G. C. and J. J. Albright. 1987. Occurrence of the northern bog lemming, Synaptomys borealis, in the northeastern
United States. Can. Field-Naturalist 101:611-613.
Hall, E. R. 1981. The Mammals of North America, Vols. I & II. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
MacDonald, S. O., E. Lance, and J. A. Cook. 2003. Draft: Conservation status of selected Alaska mammals. USFWS
Candidates Workshop.
NatureServe. 2007b. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe,
Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer.
Whitney, P. 1994. Lemmings. Wildlife Notebook Series, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife
Conservation.
Version date: 1/2/2013
Report authors: K. Walton, T. Gotthardt, and T. Fields
Alaska Natural Heritage Program
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK 99501
For details on the development of the ASRS and criteria, please see: Gotthardt, T. A., K. M. Walton, and T. L. Fields. 2012.
Setting Conservation Priorities for Alaska's Wildlife Action Plan. Alaska Natural Heritage Program, University of Alaska
Anchorage, AK.
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