Food Preferences of the Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) in Relation to Habitat Affinities

The food preferences of the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) were tested against an array of 30 plant species from a wide variety of habitats; eight of the 30 were introduced species. In the food-preference sequence established by this experiment, forage crops and adventive plants characteristic of the old-field habitat occupied eight of the top ten ranks. White clover (Trifolium repens) was the most preferred plant; alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and red clover (Trifolium pratense) were next in rank, followed by dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and horsetail (Equisetum arvense). Four of the remaining five ranks among the first ten plants were occupied by adventive grasses. The 12th to 20th positions were occupied by native monocotyledonous plants. Native boreal and bog plants occupied the last eight positions.