The singing vole is so-named for its
high-pitched trill, used to warn members of its social group. It
is a food source for the common avian and mammal predators of the
area. Singing voles dig burrows with ~1" diameter entrances that
may be up to 3' long. This includes a large nest that may be up
to 1' long, and a storage chamber for extra food. Burrows are
typically only 2" from the surface, and are often raided by Native
peoples for the stored tubers.
The singing vole eats lupines, arctic locoweed, horsetail, and
sedge. Its range encompasses Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest
Territories. It breeds from May to September. Gestation is
21 days. The singing vole may have up to 3 litters/year, with
4-12 young/litter.
Northern
Red-backed
Vole (
Clethrionomys rutilus)
Northern Red-backed voles like to eat
green herbacious plants and underground fungi. They store bulbs,
stems, tuber, and nuts in their burrows. Burrow entrances are
characterised by pieces of cut vegetation among boulders and
logs. Its range encompasses Alaska and northwest Canada. It
breeds from late May to early September. Gestation is 17-19
days. Females typically have 2 litters/year, with 4-9/litter.
Brown Lemming (
Lemmus sibiricus)
Brown lemmings live in surface nests
made of woven balls of grass 6-8" wide. They also dig tunnels
with chambers 6" diameter. Frequently will a tunnel or nest be
abandoned and a new one created. Brown lemmings feed on grasses,
sedges, and leafty plants during summer. During the winter months
it relies on the bark and twigs of willow and birch. They have
very small home ranges, about 3.5 - 6 sq yds. Lemmings mate
typically from the spring to fall, though sometimes there is breeding
throughout winter as well. There are typically 1-3 litters/yr,
with 1-13/litter. Population fluctuates dramatically, peaking
every 3-4 years due to winter breeding. Then, the lemmings become
nervous and hyperactive, and are prey to the various predators of the
area. Brown lemmings inhabit the wet tundra of Alaska, northern
Canada, and northern British Columbia, including the ANWR region.
Collared Lemming (
Dicrostonyx groenlandicus)
Collared lemmings live in surface nests
6-8" wide among rocks and snowdrifts. They dig tunnel systems
with resting chambers as deep as the permafrost line. During the
summer, collared lemmings feed on grasses, sedges, bearberry, and
cotton grass. They also feed on willow twigs and buds
year-round. With a range that spans northern and western Alaska
as well as northern Canada, collared lemmings are a major food source
for arctic carnivores including Arctic foxes, wolves, wolverines, snowy
owls, gulls, jaegers, etc.
Collared lemmings breed from March to September. A femal has
several litters a year, with ~7/litter. Gestation is 21 days.