A spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) epidemic in the Copper Basin of Alaska beginning in the late 1980's has infested over 200,000 ha of white spruce forests in the region. The impact of spruce beetle-induced habitat changes on the northern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rutilus) was investigated using mark/recapture techniques for 2 field seasons. Vole abundance and recruitment was significantly greater on low versus heavily infested sites but a large vole survival response was lacking. Vole food resources and protective vegetative cover did not vary substantially in areas with different levels of spruce mortality. Male movement distances were influenced by sex ratio, and females appeared to respond to food resources (epigeous [...]
