Body Composition Dynamics of a Small Herbivore, the Meadow Vole (Microtus Pennsylvanicus): A Field and Laboratory Perspective

In the field, meadow voles are relatively lean year-round, maintaining between 2 to 3 g of lipid. Percent body fat of individuals varied seasonally due primarily to losses in body mass of adult voles and reduction in growth rates by subadults during winter. When brought into the laboratory, voles significantly increased body mass due to large gains in lipid mass and small decreases in fat-free mass, regardless of season of capture or diet quality. Within three weeks, voles increased body fat from 5 to 25 whether eating lab chow 5 dietary fat or rabbit chow.