9700900 Solomon Both individuals and populations should be strongly influenced by habitat quality. In turn, habitat quality can be influenced by many factors, such as the abundance and distribution of food, cover, and the presence of potential mates or competitors. Individuals within a population usually do not utilized all available habitat. The portion of habitat that individuals use on a daily basis is referred to as their home range and if this space is defended, it is referred to as their territory. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of territory quality and resource distribution on movement and space use of meadow voles. Female meadow voles are territorial during the breeding season and occupy relatively small ranges. Male meadow voles are non-territorial throughout the year and occupy ranges several times larger than female ranges. It has been hypothesized that female territoriality should be more pronounced in high-quality habitat relative to low-quality habitat and should be more evident when resources are clumped rather than evenly distributed. We will test these hypotheses by examining patterns of overlap among female territories; low levels of overlap indicate territoriality whereas high levels indicate non-territorial behavior. If overlap is lower in high-quality habitat than in low-quality habitat and lower on clumped than evenly distributed resources these hypotheses will be supported. Offspring born on high-quality territories are more likely to remain in the natal area than offspring born on low-quality territories. Additionally, offspring that leave high-quality territories should be older than offspring that leave low-quality territories. We will test these hypotheses by examining the proportion of offspring that remain in the natal area as adults and the ages of individuals that leave the natal area. Understanding how meadow voles respond to territory quality and resource distribution is important since these animals can alter pla nt communities thus influencing ecological succession, are an important prey species for many predators, and are known to be an important agricultural pest. Determining how meadow voles respond to habitat quality and resource distribution could therefore lead to a better understanding of ecological succession, how predator assemblages respond to resource and prey abundance and distribution, and help design new agricultural practices that can help reduce vole damage.
