Aspects of Reproduction and Developmentin the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)
BY
HENRY S. FITCH
INTRODUCTION
The prairie vole is by far the most abundant mammal on theUniversity of Kansas Natural History Reservation and on grasslandareas throughout northeastern Kansas. This vole therefore affectsthe vegetation, perhaps more than any other native vertebrate, andit is an important food source for most of the vertebrate predators.Since the Reservation was established, in 1948, more data have beenaccumulated concerning this vole than for any other species ofanimal there. From February, 1950, to February, 1954, a grid oflive-traps at 50-foot intervals was set for several days each monthin a three-acre field inhabited by voles, and the population ofmarked individuals was studied throughout the four-year period. FromNov