LONG-DISTANCE HOMING IN MEADOW VOLES, MICROTUS-PENNSYLVANICUS

During a field experiment on density-dependent processes in meadow vol es (Microtus pennsylvanicus), we removed 848 voles from field enclosur es and released chem 1,200 m away. Eleven animals (1.3%) returned to t he enclosure from which they had been removed, which entailed traversi ng inhospitable habitat (forest, wetland), obstacles (permanent stream , roads), and climbing a 0.9-m hardware-cloth fence surrounding the en closures. For six of the 11 voles, returning home was accomplished in >2 but <4 weeks; the others returned in less than or equal to 2 weeks. Voles returning home, which averaged ca. 30 g, lost on average 5.3% o f their body mass during homing, unlike their resident counterparts, w hich gained mass. The voles that homed could not have used familiar ob jects as cues for navigation, but whether they used distant points of reference or wandered randomly is unknown. Our findings suggest that m eadow voles are capable of travelling >1 km coward home, and thus, it is likely that they could travel similar distances while dispersing.