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 Vole Species - Approximately 70 vole species have been discovered which include: meadow Vole, Florida salt marsh vole, Arctic voles, southern red-back voles, bank vole, water vole, CA vole and red-backed vole.
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There are several species of vole which live in arctic habitats and are commonly referred to as arctic voles. These include the grey-sided vole, northern red-backed vole, tundra vole, taiga vole and snow vole.
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Arctic Voles
There are a number of species of vole that live in arctic habitats, these include the grey-sided vole, northern red-backed vole, tundra vole, taiga vole and snow vole. The grey-sided vole (Clethrionomys rufocanus) is a North Paleo-arctic voles species, found from the western part of the Scandinavian peninsula to North-East Siberia and Hokkaido (the northernmost island of Japan).
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A grey-sided vole foraging
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It is usually found in bogs and boreal coniferous forests in the northern parts of the taiga zone, extending to the fringes of the tundra. It can be found in more extreme arctic-alpine habitats but the species reaches its highest abundance in somewhat shrubby low arctic habitats close to the timberline.
Like other arctic voles the grey-sided vole feeds mainly on the shoots and berries of dwarf shrub species which are unpalatable in winter for other herbivores capable of removing the snow or moving within it. The palatability of these dwarf shrubs varies from one vole species to another. The crowberry is regarded as largely unpalatable by grey-sided voles while the bilberry is highly palatable and considered to be their most important winter food plant.
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The most relevant links we could find, placed here free
 Discover Life
- This page has pictures and information about another arctic voles species, the taiga vole. pick4.pick.uga.edu
Animal Planet
- A profile of the northern red-backed vole which is commonly found in arctic habitats. animal.discovery.com
The grey-sided vole breeds in three seasons of the year (all except winter). Only females surviving the winter become pregnant in spring, and the spring-born females then mature during the summer to comprise a major part of the breeding population in the autumn. Thus, the pregnancy rate is higher in spring and autumn than in summer The maturation period is about 30-60 days, and the gestation period is 18-19 days.
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Grey-sided voles feed on the shoots & berries of dwarf shrubs
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As typical for rodents in arctic and boreal regions it displays pronounced multi-annual density fluctuations. These fluctuations affect species further up the food chain as grey-sided and other arctic voles in these ecosystems are the main source of food for many predators. The main predators of voles in arctic habitats are weasels and stoats The weasel in particular is an extremely specialized hunter of arctic voles under the snow.
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Site written by Richard Wedge