Tanya Lewis,
LiveScience Staff Writer
Date: 04 April
2013 Time: 02:53 PM ET
Herbivorous
voles play a critical role in the food chain. They are prey for many
predators and important consumers of vegetation. Historically, voles have had
three- to five-year boom-and-bust population cycles. However, over the past
half-century, these cycles have been much less pronounced, a new study finds.
The widespread flattening of vole populations may be due to climate
change, and it could have detrimental effects on species that rely on these
little creatures.
Voles are
close to the bottom of the food chain, and the fate of these animals tends to
have a ripple effect on the rest of the ecosystem, said ecologist Xavier Lambin
of the University of Aberdeen in the U.K., and senior author of the study
published today (April 4) in the journal Science.
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