Young field voles can move quite far in 1/80th of a second.

A California vole (Microtus californicus) in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, California, USA

by Ron Wolf

Giant Banded Canopy Anole (Dactyloa microtus) juvenile, family Dactyloidae, Costa Rica

photograph by Diego Ugalde Photography

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, vol. 11, Mammals II. 1972.

1.) European hamster (Cricetus cricetus)

2.) False zokor (Myospalax aspalax)

3.) Western nesomys (Nesomys lambertoni)

4.) Maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi)

5.) Bank vole (Myodes glareolus)

6.) Southern mole vole (Ellobius fuscocapillus)

7.) Common vole (Microtus arvalis)

8.) European snow vole or snow vole (Chionomys nivalis)

9.) Eastern meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

10.) Norway lemming (Lemmus lemmus)

11.) Tristram's jird (Meriones tristrami)

12.) North African gerbil (Dipodillus campestris)

13.) Great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus)

14.) East African Gerbil (Gerbilliscus vicinus)

15.) Bamboo rat (Rhizomys sp.)

16.) Northeast African mole-rat (Tachyoryctes splendens)

17.) Lesser blind mole-rat (Nannospalax leucodon)

I drew this field vole (Microtus agrestis)

Daemon Age: Inquisition

Cole - All Outcomes

Cole & ??? - unsettled; daemon takes vaguely animal forms such as clusters of spiders, swarms of gnats, empty snail shells, etc.

Cole Tethras & Uma - Prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) Cole gives his daemon the name Uma, because he is hUMAn now. She settles as a prairie vole during the Deep Roads expedition in Trespasser. Varric is very proud of his baby boy, now all grown up.

Compassion - None. As a spirit, he is wholly within. Tendrils of Dust magic rise from his shoulders, but no animal shapes form.

FIELD TRIP 2

Today we had a very wet but very interesting time on the UEA campus, observing some small mammals and listening to birdcalls.

There are loads of different small mammals that live around here, including: wood mouse/field mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), house mouse (Mus musculus), harvest mouse (Micromys minutus), yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), bank vole (Myodes glareolus), field vole (Microtus agrestis), water vole (Arvicola amphibious), common shrew (Sorex araneus), and pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus). There is a dedicated area for observing these small mammals, indicated on the map below with a blue star:

To see these little guys, a series of traps was laid the previous night, which we then opened up the next morning. The traps work by using a ‘trap-door’ system, which is set off when the animal steps into the corridor of the trap, looking for shelter and food. Luckily for them, inside has been equipped with everything that each mammal would need to survive for 24 hours, including a nest of straw for warmth, and various foods tailored to each mammal. This includes a blob of peanut butter, some apple and carrot, seeds and larvae. 

60 traps were set up as pairs in a long line in the secluded section of the campus that the general public don’t have entry to, and were placed just inside large overgrown areas of weeds and plants on the southern border of the area, where these mammals live, to increase the likelihood of them entering the trap. Below is the trap I collected that morning. 

In fact, due to the buffet meal that awaits them, there is a strong change that the same mammals might keep being intentionally trapped: these are called ‘trap-happy’. Therefore, this method of collecting data on population wouldn’t be very accurate, as the mammals that stay away and the mammals that are attracted to the traps wouldn’t be representative of what actually lives there. As the populations of these mammals change so quickly due to their short lifespans, it is even harder to get an accurate estimate of this. Instead it can give a rough index of who lives there, if done repeatedly over time. 

After we collected all of the traps, we laid them out in the same order as they were in the undergrowth, and turned the ones we suspected to have a mammal inside one way, and all the suspected empty ones the other way, as seen here:

Now the fun part: gently unlocking and opening the traps inside a plastic bag to safely catch the mammal for observation. Using the bag means we can safely decide what species they are, and what sex, by observing their appearance, measuring their hind leg, and turning them over to view their reproductive parts. This morning, out of the 60 traps 10 had a mammal inside. The first one we found was this guy:

We observed the yellow band across his neck, and measured the length of his hindleg (27mm) to deduce he was a a male yellow-necked mouse. Overall, we found 2 yellow-necked mice, 4 woodmice, and 4 bank voles - 7 our of 10 of these were males, who tend to roam further than the females to breed as much as possible, while the females stay and trend to the babies. Below is a very wet, angry looking bank vole:

After all the mammals had been recorded, they were taken back to where their trap was and released. We then cleaned the traps, resupplied them with food and straw and set them back up along the same border. 

Next up we left the small mammal trapping area to do some bird censusing. We walked north west to a large field by a woodland area and tried to observe any birds we saw. This is of course not easy, so a better method of censusing birds is by listening to their calls. Not only do these calls give a good approximation of where the birds are, the kind of call can sometimes indicate what relationship they have to other birds in the area, who they are talking to and if its a call for help or something else. One way of censusing in this way is to use territory mapping, seen below:

This method allows you to plot where you hear the different birds, and also indicate the different relationships you can observe. In the image on the left, the dotted line indicates that a conversation is taking place between the 2 robins (R). The image on the right is more intricate, numbering the approximate territories observed, just by listening to these relationships. This method is widely used, but can be very time consuming, as to begin your census you need to situate yourself in the most advantageous listening spot and wait about 5-10 minutes before you can start recording, to allow the birds to settle into their natural behaviour. Then you can make several visits, during different times of the day and year to see how these change. It does require a better ear than mine to distinguish some of the calls, such as the jackdaw which our guide told us was calling. Another method used is known as the line, or belt, method, where the observer will move a long a predetermined, fixed route and record everything they see and hear on either side of the route. This is done several times again. Of course, this method has its own biases, as things closer to the route will be easier to distinguish, and even be seen or heard, depending on the sort of terrain that might obstruct the birds. Below is a diagram explaining how detectability is greatly affected by the type, and height, of plant growth in the environment. 

The final method we tried is known as the ‘point count’ method, where the observations are taken from a fixed location for a fixed time. This can provide estimates of relative abundances or densities, if the distances are recorded. Again, a lead-in time is required to let the animals settle back into heir natural behaviour. Below is an example of a recording using this method:

Due to the very very wet weather, we didn’t hear very many birds, but just sitting quietly in the woods and listening to the calls, or walking along the field looking for birds in the air or along the ground was a really nice way to interact with the animals that live here, and give more perspective on the diversity of what is actually out there. 

*for more information on the various mammals, small and large, in Norfolk, I found this link to be really informative:

Лугові полівки можуть знайти собі партнерів без «гормону кохання» окситоцину, - дослідження вчених

Вважалося, що гормон має важливе значення для формування соціальних зв’язків між тваринами. Лугових полівок давно вважали зразком моногамії. Тепер дослідження показує, що «гормон кохання», який колись вважався необхідним для їхнього зв’язку — окситоцин — може бути не таким вже й необхідним. Інтерес до романтичного життя лугових полівок ( Microtus ochrogaster ) уперше виник понад 40 років тому,…

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Alpelisib as well as radiotherapy remedy enhances Venetoclax-mediated cervical melanoma killing

Your suprarenal size shown cystoids as well as sound masses detected by simply ultrasound and CT in the adrenal hemorrhages as well as in tumors. The correct proper diagnosis of neonatal suprarenal bulk is dependent upon prenatal ultrasonography, clinical expressions, urine VMA test, CT and also ultrasound, however powerful statement associated with suprarenal size by CT and ultrasound examination is a way of differential prognosis. Whilst careful care is suitable for adrenal hemorrhage, adrenal malignancies need surgical removal. In addition, adrenal mass that's challenging to analyze may be followed up regarding 30 days without the uncomfortable side effects around the treatments as well as prognosis from the growth.Each of our earlier study exposed this phrase styles of insulin-like development aspect A single (IGF1) along with insulin-like development aspect binding health proteins 1 (IGFBP1) inside the Qinghai-Tibet level underlying vole (Microtus oeconomus) beneath hypoxic problem. Ideas document the actual molecular systems regarding Igf gene regulation connected with version to hypoxia. Meters. oeconomus IGF1 along with IGFBP1 were shown to be highly preserved #Link# . Hypoxia (8.0% O-2, 6 they would) did not #Link# change the liver-derived ce appearance either in Meters. oeconomus or perhaps mouse. Hypoxia drastically upregulated hepatic Igfbp1 gene expression and also IGFBP1 levels inside the hard working liver along with plasma tv's of a mouse button, but not throughout Michael. oeconomus. A practical U-rich consider the actual 3' untranslated region was found throughout mouse Igfbp1 mRNA, that was related to Igfbp1 mRNA leveling and also upregulation underneath hypoxia, and this U-rich element had been eradicated inside the Meters. oeconomus Igfbp1, resulting in blunted Igfbp1 mRNA upregulation, which were comprehended like a collection variation altered throughout molecular advancement beneath hypoxia. (H) 2013 Authored by Elsevier Eire Ltd.The particular significantly recognized function regarding digestive signs within the regulation of food intake, blood insulin generation along with peripheral nutritious safe-keeping provides caused an outburst of great interest inside researching how the gastrointestinal tract senses along with reacts to healthy information. Identification involving metabolically important intestinal nutritious detectors can present possible brand-new drug objectives for the diabetes, obesity as well as stomach disorders. Coming from a far more simple viewpoint, the research into intestinal tract chemosensation is uncovering story, non-neuronal methods associated with communication regarding separated epithelial tissue. It's also determining signalling components downstream involving not merely canonical receptors but additionally nutrient transporters, thus supporting the chemosensory role pertaining to "transceptors" inside the gut. This evaluate describes identified #Link# and also proposed components associated with intestinal tract carb, proteins and fat detecting, best characterized inside mammalian programs. In addition, it highlights the chance of invertebrate design techniques for example D. elegans and Drosophila melanogaster by simply outlining known instances of molecular major efficiency. Recently designed anatomical resources within Drosophila, a growing style method for your study regarding body structure and also metabolism, let the temporal, spatial and also high-throughput adjustment associated with putative intestinal detectors.

#MiniatureMonday

[Microtus] by Daniel Essig

You may recall that Daniel Essig, who “creates mixed-media book structures that incorporate unusual woods, handmade paper, found objects, fossils, and mica.” We've featured his work before, showing a tiny book that contained pebbles in the cover.

This beautiful book, however, does not contain pebbles. Instead the cover displays vole ribs behind a mica window, set in oak wood covers.

Yeah, it took us by surprise too.

--Diane R., Special Collections Graduate Student

California Vole ~ Microtus californicus ~ California Meadow Mouse ~ Golden Gate Park ~ San Francisco, California #CaliforniaVole #Vole #Microtus #Microtuscalifornicus #MeadowMouse #GoldenGate #GoldenGatePark #SanFran #SanFrancisco #SF #CA #California #Rongeurs #rongeursofinstagram #Muridés #Rodents #wildanimals #wildlife #nature #photography #photo #nature #naturephotography ~ https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachidh/albums (at Golden Gate Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2m_fp7gL3F/?igshid=8uqmgs39um7i

Winter changes voles' moods, too.

Winter changes voles’ moods, too.

As the seasons wear on, and we begin another year with our movements restricted by Covid19, it’s easy to see cabin fever creeping up on folks. People who wouldn’t ordinarily have conflict, begin to. Those who started out with strife and high tempers can’t be said to have improved. This plight turns my mind to the voles, and how much better they handle winter than us humans. Voles are kin of mice…

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These are some of the small mammals that occur in Southern Portugal. This montage of pencil illustrations was derived from the illustrations originally made in 2012 for a mammal guide for the Redondo municipality, in the Alentejo (Portugal) of which I posted some stuff before.

© João T. Tavares / GOBIUS Comunicação e Ciência

Short-eared owl on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (via USFWS Mountain-Prairie)

A short-eared owl eats a meadow vole for lunch on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Meadow voles are the preferred prey for short-eared owls. Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS

Microtus californicus (California meadow mouse)

Study skin

Collected in Carmel, CA, 1983

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