Florida salt marsh vole

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Florida salt marsh vole
Saltmarsh-Vole1.jpg
Status TNC T1.svg
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Microtus
Subgenus: Pitymys
Species:
M. dukecampbelli
Binomial name
Microtus dukecampbelli
C. A. Woods, Post, & Kilpatrick, 1982
Synonyms

Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli

The Florida salt marsh vole (Microtus dukecampbelli) [4] is a North American vole endemic to the state of Florida in the United States.

Taxonomy

It was formerly thought conspecific with the eastern meadow vole (M. pennsylvanicus), but more recent genetic studies indicate that it is basal to both the eastern and western (M. drummondii) meadow voles, and thus represents a distinct species. [5]

Distribution

According to fossil and subfossil material, the Florida salt marsh vole formerly had a wide range throughout the southeastern United States, but by 5,000 years before the present, due to climatic changes prompting a transition from grassland to forest habitats, it became an uncommon species restricted to Florida. It is now restricted to just a single salt marsh in Waccasassa Bay in Levy County. [6]

Habitat

It is found in a transitional high salt marsh, near the edges of patches of Juncus roemerianus in patches of Distichlis spicata . It appears to avoid areas dominated by Spartina alterniflora . [6] [7] :31

Threats

It is one of the most threatened, restricted, and poorly known mammals in North America. Due to its extremely small range, the species is at major risk of extinction from the effects of climate change, including severe tropical storms and hurricanes, and potentially sea level rise. Similar relict populations of the prairie vole (M. ochrogaster) on the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, which were reportedly abundant in the early 20th century, have since been extirpated, and the Florida salt marsh vole could potentially follow the same fate. Relatively few individuals have been sighted since 1979, with a 1992 survey with 1025 traps only catching a single individual. The population density is likely lower than 70 individuals per hectare. The species is thus of heavy conservation concern. [5] It is considered Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [2] and Critically Imperiled by NatureServe. [1]

The only known site for the species is on private land, although any activities in the area are restricted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The species could potentially occur on public land at the nearby Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern meadow vole</span> Species of mammal

The eastern meadow vole, sometimes called the field mouse or meadow mouse, is a North American vole found in eastern Canada and the United States. Its range extends farther south along the Atlantic coast.

<i>Microtus</i> Genus of rodents

Microtus is a genus of voles found in North America, Europe and northern Asia. The genus name refers to the small ears of these animals. They are stout rodents with short ears, legs and tails. They eat green vegetation such as grasses and sedges in summer, and grains, seeds, root and bark at other times. The genus is also called "meadow voles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American water vole</span> Species of rodent

The North American water vole or just water vole is the largest North American vole. It is found in the northwestern United States and southern parts of western Canada. This animal has been historically considered a member of genus Arvicola, but molecular evidence demonstrates that it is more closely related to North American Microtus species. Water voles are on the USDA Forest Service Region 2 sensitive species list because they maintain very small populations and there is high concern that their required habitat may be declining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed vole</span> Species of rodent

The long-tailed vole, in some areas known as the San Bernardino long-tailed vole, is a small vole found in western North America. They have short ears and a long tail. Their fur is gray brown with light gray underparts. They are around 18 cm (7.1 in) long with an 8 cm (3.1 in) tail and weigh about 50 g (1.8 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie vole</span> Species of mammal

The prairie vole is a small vole found in central North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park</span> State park in Florida, United States

Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park is a 30,784-acre (124.58 km2) salt marsh that stretches from Cedar Key to Yankee Town, and is only accessible by boat. It includes the part of Gulf Hammock wetlands area that is closest to the Gulf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge</span>

The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,125-acre (37 km2) National Wildlife Refuge made up of several parcels of land along 50 miles (80 km) of Maine's southern coast. Created in 1966, it is named for environmentalist and author Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring raised public awareness of the effects of DDT on migratory songbirds, and of other environmental issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beach vole</span> Subspecies of rodent

The beach vole or Muskeget vole is a rodent in the family Cricetidae. This close relative of the eastern meadow vole is endemic to the 0.87 km2 Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. Due to its relatively short period of reproductive isolation, there is debate over the beach vole's designation as a subspecies of M. pennsylvanicus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creeping vole</span> Species of rodent

The creeping vole, sometimes known as the Oregon meadow mouse, is a small rodent in the family Cricetidae. Ranging across the Pacific Northwest of North America, it is found in forests, grasslands, woodlands, and chaparral environments. The small-tailed, furry, brownish-gray mammal was first described in the scientific literature in 1839, from a specimen collected near the mouth of the Columbia River. The smallest vole in its range, it weighs around 19 g. At birth, they weigh 1.6 g, are naked, pink, unable to open their eyes, and the ear flaps completely cover the ear openings. Although not always common throughout their range, there are no major concerns for their survival as a species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend's vole</span> Species of rodent

Townsend's vole is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae, the sister species of M. canicaudus. It is found in temperate grasslands of British Columbia in Canada and in the states of Washington and Oregon in the United States.

<i>Mynomes</i> Subgenus of rodents

Mynomes is a North American subgenus of voles in the genus Microtus. Species in this subgenus are:

Listrophorus is a genus of parasitic mites in the family Listrophoridae. North American species with their hosts include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amargosa vole</span> Subspecies of rodent

The Amargosa vole is one of 17 subspecies of the California vole. The most closely related subspecies is M. californicus vallicola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western meadow vole</span> Species of mammal

The western meadow vole is a species of North American vole found in midwestern and western Canada and the United States, and formerly in Mexico. It was formerly considered conspecific with the eastern meadow vole, but genetic studies indicate that it is a distinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microtini</span> Tribe of rodents

Microtini is a tribe of voles in the subfamily Arvicolinae.

References

  1. 1 2 NatureServe (3 March 2023). "Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Florida salt marsh vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  3. 56 FR 1457
  4. "Microtus dukecampbelli C. A. Woods, Post, & Kilpatrick, 1982". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists . Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  5. 1 2 Jackson, Donavan J; Cook, Joseph A (2020-02-21). "A precarious future for distinctive peripheral populations of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)". Journal of Mammalogy. 101 (1): 36–51. doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz196 . ISSN   0022-2372.
  6. 1 2 3 "Florida Salt March Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli) Species Account/Biologue". North Florida Ecological Services Office. Jacksonville: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 7 February 2018 [Reviewed August 2001]. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022.
  7. Woods, Charles A.; Post, William; Kilpatrick, C. William (1982). "Microtus pennsylvanicus (Rodentia: Muridae) in Florida: A Pleistocene Relict in a Coastal Saltmarsh" (PDF). Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences Series. 28 (2): 25–52. Retrieved 20 March 2023 via Florida Museum.