Department of Zoology

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    ECOLOGY OF MURREE VOLE, HYPERACRIUS WYNNEI BLANDFORD, IN GALLIAT, HAZARA, PAKISTAN
    (Department Of Zoology, University Of Peshawar, 1991-03) Mohammad Arshad; Supervisor Dr. M. Nasim Siddiqui
    Ecology of the Murree vole, Hyper acrius wynnei, was studied in Galliat from 1985 to 1989. Being entirely fossorial the head is massive with short neck. Body is thick and cylindrical with short tail, small ears and small but strong fore-legs. Eyes are tiny with limitted vision. Variability in body weight, body length and tail length was more or less remained the same throughout the study period. The Murree vole was well distributed in Galliat and was found from 1830-3050 m elevation, being quite abundant in the grass, cultivated and abandoned fields. Soil texture, depth of the top soil, grass, topography and presence of rocks influenced its spatial distribution. Distribution of the vole corresponded roughly with silver fir. It lived in colonies and excavated an extensive system of shallow galleries spreading over more than 400 m² . The burrow system served for shelter, protection from enemies, as a means of obtaining food and as a place to rear young ones. The burrowing activities were related to rainfall. The Murree vole is a generalist feeder; fragments of 22 species of herbs and one of shrub were identified from its stomach contents. During winter it mainly fed on the bark of the shrubs. Tall plants were preferred over small ones. The Murree vole did not hibernate and bred throughout the year, the pregnancy rate being low (36.65%). Significantly high and low pregnancy rate was found in September-October and November-December samples of 1985 respectively. Litter size was small (1-4), usually 1-2, and during November-December, all the females had only one embryo. Prenatal mortality was very low (5.34%). There was no change in the mean testes length in different seasons.In adults, sex ratios did not deviate from normal sex ratio (1:1). The juvenile showed imbalanced sex ratios skewed towards males, suggesting more mortality of young males during development. The major portion of the populations comprised of juveniles (28.4%). There was no significant seasonal difference in the mean body weight. One species of nematode and one species of pentastomids were recorded. Fleas and mites were quite common in monsoon season. The only apparent serious predator was domestic cat. The Murree vole is a pest of maize, potatoes and apple trees. About 4.0% of maize plants were damaged by the vole, while damage to potato crops was 6.8%. It fed on the bark of the apple tree and destroyed about 6.0% of the trees.