The meadow vole occurs widely in North American grasslands and wetlands and favors places where grass remains.
Gray and orange-yellow tones are mixed through its back fur, with paler fur underneath. Its tail is much shorter than its body, about half its body length.
Researchers examined genetic connections among voles at five restored tall-grass prairie sites in Illinois. The sample included 83 Meadow Voles from patches surrounded by farmland. Genetic assignments also helped confirm the closely related vole species represented in the field samples.
The Meadow Vole samples showed genetic structure, but relatedness estimates suggested that clustering of relatives, rather than geographic isolation, likely explained the pattern. This species was sampled at two of the five sites. The study documented the genetic composition of populations in a prairie restoration landscape within an agricultural region.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Meadow Vole samples from two Illinois restoration sites showed genetic clustering associated with related individuals.