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Article: Observations of foraging on taproots of invasive thistles by prairie voles.
- Article from:
- Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science
- Article date:
- March 22, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Kansas Academy of Science. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) feed primarily on leaves and stems of forbs and grasses and to a lesser extent on plant roots and seeds, and arthropods (Fleharty and Olson 1969; Kaufman and Bixler 1995; Menhusen 1963; Zimmerman 1965). As these investigators have noted, the species eaten by prairie voles include grasses such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and forbs such as fireweed (Kochia scoparia), curly dock (Rumex crispus), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). As part of our interest in the mammals of the mixed-grass prairie region of north-central Kansas, we continue to record natural ...