They feed on a variety of plant materials and their feeding preferences shift through the seasons. Succulent grasses and forbs are used when first available in the spring and throughout the summer. From late summer through the fall, seeds are heavily used. During the winter, voles primarily feed on woody species as herbaceous foods are not readily available. Roots and tuberous materials are fed on throughout the year.
Voles have a high reproductive potential.
They reach sexual maturity in a few months and females can have several litters of 3-6 young per year. A large variety of mammalian and avian predators prey upon voles and vole survival rates are lowest where abundant, dense cover is not available. Vole densities vary, often dramatically, throughout the year. Low densities are common in the winter and spring and then increase substantially through summer and fall due to annual reproduction and recruitment. Dispersal by young animals into surrounding areas, including and crop fields, often occurs at this time.