The biology of the vole Clethrionomys rufocanus: a review

摘要

A review of the biology of the grey-sided vole Clethrionomys rufocanus (taxonomy, morphology, phylogeny, distribution and natural history) in Hokkaido, Japan, is presented. C. rufocanus is a habitat generalist and favours forests and woodlands, highlighting the importance of understorey vegetation. Forest damage by rodents on Hokkaido is discussed in relation to forest management, the transformation of natural forests into coniferous plantations (with the removal of weeds and planting of Larix kaempferi and Abies sachalinensis), a management focused census programme of small rodents, and the potential use of census data for rodent damage forecasts and small mammal population ecology studies.