Western Red-Backed Vole
Encyclopedia
The Western Red-Backed Vole (Myodes californicus) is a species of vole
in the family Cricetidae
. It is found in California
and Oregon
in the United States
and lives mainly in coniferous forest. The body color is chestnut brown, or brown mixed with a considerable quantity of black hair gradually lightening on the sides and grading into a buffy-gray belly, with an indistinct reddish stripe on the back and a bicolored tail about half as long as the head and body. Average length is between 2.5-5.65 inches (65-137mm), with height between 0.75-0.87 inches (18-21mm).
The species is closely related to the Southern Red-backed Vole
(Myodes gapperi), which lives to the north and east of the range of this species, and is redder, with a more sharply bicolored tail.
The species breeds between February and November on the slopes of the Cascade Range in north Oregon, as well as all year to the west of the Cascade Range, with 2-7 young per litter and a gestation period of around 18 days.
which are the symbionts
of the forest trees around it. Rhizopogon vinicolor
is one such which is associated with the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga spp.). Fruiting of the fungus takes place in well decayed timber when the nutrients are becoming exhausted. Because the fruiting bodies are underground, the spores are not liberated into the air as in most fungal species. However, the spores are found in the vole's droppings and are deposited throughout its burrows, thus enabling the fungus to spread and form associations with uninfected trees. It has been found that in a clear-cut forest where all the dead wood and trimmings are removed, the mycorrhiza stops fruiting, the vole population dies out and newly planted trees fail to thrive. This is an example of a three way symbiosis. The vole gains food from the fungus and spreads its spores. The fungus gains photosynthetic products from the tree which benefits from the nutrients produced by the fungus.
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
in the family Cricetidae
Cricetidae
The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, and New World rats and mice...
. It is found in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and lives mainly in coniferous forest. The body color is chestnut brown, or brown mixed with a considerable quantity of black hair gradually lightening on the sides and grading into a buffy-gray belly, with an indistinct reddish stripe on the back and a bicolored tail about half as long as the head and body. Average length is between 2.5-5.65 inches (65-137mm), with height between 0.75-0.87 inches (18-21mm).
The species is closely related to the Southern Red-backed Vole
Southern Red-backed Vole
The Southern Red-backed Vole or Gapper's Red-backed Vole is a small slender vole found in Canada and the northern United States...
(Myodes gapperi), which lives to the north and east of the range of this species, and is redder, with a more sharply bicolored tail.
The species breeds between February and November on the slopes of the Cascade Range in north Oregon, as well as all year to the west of the Cascade Range, with 2-7 young per litter and a gestation period of around 18 days.
Ecology
The western red-backed vole lives largely underground in an extensive system of burrows. It feeds preferentially on the fruiting bodies of the mycorrhizal fungiMycorrhiza
A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant....
which are the symbionts
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
of the forest trees around it. Rhizopogon vinicolor
Rhizopogon vinicolor
Rhizopogon vinicolor is a species complex of ectomycorrhizal fungus which forms a mutualistic relationship with the Douglas-fir . The species was first described scientifically by American mycologist Alexander H. Smith in 1966....
is one such which is associated with the Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga spp.). Fruiting of the fungus takes place in well decayed timber when the nutrients are becoming exhausted. Because the fruiting bodies are underground, the spores are not liberated into the air as in most fungal species. However, the spores are found in the vole's droppings and are deposited throughout its burrows, thus enabling the fungus to spread and form associations with uninfected trees. It has been found that in a clear-cut forest where all the dead wood and trimmings are removed, the mycorrhiza stops fruiting, the vole population dies out and newly planted trees fail to thrive. This is an example of a three way symbiosis. The vole gains food from the fungus and spreads its spores. The fungus gains photosynthetic products from the tree which benefits from the nutrients produced by the fungus.