Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Taiga vole (yellow-cheeked vole)
Taiga vole (yellow-cheeked vole)
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Microtus xanthognathus
Conservation Status
Heritage
G Rank: G5
Agency
USFWS/NOAA:
BLM:
AA:
S Rank: S4S5
SOA: Species of Greatest Conservation Need
USFS:
IUCN: Least Concern
Final Rank
Conservation category: VIII. Yellow
VIII = low status and either high biological vulnerability or high action need
Category
Status:
Range
-20 to 20
Score
Biological:
-50 to 50
-30
Action:
-40 to 40
12
-6
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)
-6
Largely unknown, although suspected stable based on limited data. There are no reports of this species experiencing a
multiannual cyclic demography. Wolff and Lidicker (1980) report that densities remained remarkably stable in favorable
areas during the period 1973 to 1979. Lehmkhul (2000) reported this species was most abundant in floodplain white spruce,
where survival was stable and recruitment was high.
Wolff and Lidicker (1980) also observed gradually declining densities in less favorable habitats in postburn conditions.
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)
-6
Score
-8
Unknown. Wolff and Lidicker (1980) reported that where favorable conditions are extensive in interior Alaska, this species
can reach high numbers. They measured densities of 108 individuals/hectare in 1977,and estimate that densities were
probably higher in 1975 and 1976. Lehmkhul (2000) reported densities of as high as 163 per hectare in floodplain black
spruce habitat in interior Alaska. Lehmkhul (2000) reported this species was most abundant in floodplain white spruce, where
survival was stable and recruitment was high.
Range Size (-10 to 10)
-2
Ranges throughout Interior Alaska on the Yukon and Kuskokwim drainages. Alaska records from east to west include the
following: Eagle, Charlie Village, Fort Yukon, the mouth of the Porcupine River, south of Fairbanks, Toklat River in Denali
National Park, the Hess Creek and Lake Minchumina area, the Yukon River 200 miles sw of the mouth of the Porcupine
River, the Hogatza River, near the Kobuk and Reed River confluence, and near the mouth of the Takotna River (Conroy and
Cook 1999).
Population Concentration (-10 to 10)
-10
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Taiga vole (yellow-cheeked vole)
Occur in colonies. Spend the winter underground in communal nests in groups of 5 to 10. Nests have multiple entrances and
burrow systems. In each colony, builds and maintains complex network of runways. Females are territorial around the nest
and during the mating season. Dispersal occurs periodically during the year and allows mixing of the population.
Reproductive Potential
Age of First Reproduction (-5 to 5)
-5
Young of the year do not breed (Wolff and Lidicker 1980). These voles usually live only 16 to 18 months.
Number of Young (-5 to 5)
-1
Alaska: average litter size 8.8 (range 6-13); 1-2 litters per year (Wolff and Lidicker 1980).
Ecological Specialization
Dietary (-5 to 5)
-5
Frugivore, herbivore. Eats grasses, horsetails and lichens; also eats blueberries (Whitaker 1980).
Habitat (-5 to 5)
1
Successful overwintering is only possible where a good supply of storable rhizomes is available. Summer populations can
utilize a wider variety of habitats including grassland and unburned forest (Wolff and Lidicker 1980). Species takes
advantage of postfire successional stages, especially where the heavy moss ground cover is not destroyed. Refuging
populations probably persist in riparian and lake-side situations where Equisetum and grasses grow in juxtaposition to
forest with good moss ground cover (Wolff and Lidicker 1980).
Wildfire appears to be an important factor for this species by creating new habitat with good burrowing/digging conditions
and abundant food supplies (Swanson 1997).
Forests (especially spruce) bordering bogs and marshes (Whitaker 1980). Spruce forests and bordering tundra (Burt and
Grossenheider 1976). Makes burrows with large dirt piles at entrances. Also makes runways through sphagnum. Young
are born in underground burrows (NatureSeve 2007b).
Biological Total:
-30
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
Voles are listed as unclassified game by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, with no bag limit and no closed season.
Monitoring Needs (-10 to 10)
2
Some localized monitoring (see Swanson 1997, Lehmkuhl 2000).
Research Needs (-10 to 10)
10
Taiga voles are prey for a number of raptors and carnivores.
Survey Needs (-10 to 10)
-10
Over 2000 records throughout range in Alaska collected between 1950s and 2006 (Arctos 2007).
Action Total:
12
Supplemental Information - variables do not receive numerical scores. Instead, they that are used to sort taxa to answer specific
biological or managerial questions.
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Taiga vole (yellow-cheeked vole)
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
References
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). 2006b. Alaska hunting, trapping and predator control regulations; fur
animals, small game, unclassified game and deleterious exotic wildlife. Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG). 2007b. 2007-2008 Alaska trapping regulations. No. 48.
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.
Burt, W. H. and R. P. Grossenheider. 1976. A field guide to the mammals. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
289 pp.
Conroy, C. J., and J. A. Cook. 1999. Microtus xanthognathus. American Society of Mammalogists 627: 1-5.
Lehmkuhl, K. L. 2000. Microhabitat selection by yellow-cheeked voles (Microtus xanthognathus) in post-fire seres of
interior Alaska. Mater's thesis, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK.
Manville, R. H. and S. P. Young. 1965. Distribution of Alaskan mammals. Bird and Mammal Laboratories , Division of
Wildlife Research. Circular 211. Published by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Washington. 70 pp.
NatureServe. 2007b. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe,
Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer.
Swanson, S. A. 1997. Yellow-cheeked voles and fire along the Upper Kobuk River Valley, Alaska. Artic Res. Of the
U.S. 11:45-49.
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Alaska Species Ranking System Summary Report - Taiga vole (yellow-cheeked vole)
Whitaker, J. O., Jr. 1980. The Audubon Society field guide to North American mammals. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
745 pp.
Wolff, J. O. and W. Z. Lidicker, Jr. 1980. Population ecology of the taiga vole, Microotus xanthognathus, in interior
Alaska. Can. J. Zool. 58:1800-1812.
Version date: 1/3/2013
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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