Metapopulations of Montane and Long-Tailed Voles (Microtus montanus and M. longicaudus), and Hantavirus and Plague in the Jackson Hole Small Mammal Community

Abstract

The purpose of the long-term research begun in 1971 on metapopulations of voles is to enumerate patterns in survivorship, reproduction, and morphology across the sections of the metapopulations. The study sites for Microtus montanus were chosen to represent primary and secondary habitat, and proximate and isolated habitat patches. The purpose of the research on hantavirus begun in 1994 is to ascertain the extent of hantavirus among as many species of small mammals as possible, to identify the strain(s), to understand the presence of hantavirus across species and among the metapopulations of voles, and to assess the potential for human contact. The purpose of the research on plague begun in 1995 is to test the long-standing hypothesis that voles are a reservoir in the intervals between plague outbreaks among ground squirrels.