Life History Strategies of the Montane Vole, Microtus montanus

Emphasis in microtine rodent biology has historically been placed on population regulation and the population cycle. Until recently, little attention has been directed to behavior and sociality in microtine rodents, but work on the sociobiology of the montane vole (Jannett, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984) is serving to integrate various aspects of the biology of this species so that its life history characteristics can be interpreted in an evolutionary framework. Work undertaken in 1984 continues previously initiated surveys of various topics, such as synchrony of population events in different populations, survivorship, scent gland development, patterns of cranial and dental variation, population trends in a sympatric species of vole ( M. longicaudus), and reproduction in a primary predator, the shorttail weasel (Mustela erminea). In addition, work in 1984 was initiated with C. Welsh on age variation in the chemical composition of male M. montanus preputial glands