Brandt's vole is a small herbivorous rodent that inhabits steppe and mountainous regions (up to 2900 m above sea level) of Mongolia, southeastern China and Transbaikalia in Russia. Field studies indicate that voles of this species are active during daylight hours, breed seasonally and live in family groups. They are characterized by a variable reproductive system - from polygyny to promiscuity, depending on population density, spatial distribution of females and the composition of family groups. Each family group occupies a separate, protected habitat area. Aggressive interactions between family group members are extremely rare. In some families, several females coexist in one burrow and jointly raise their offspring.
Social relations between family members are based on mutual tolerance with some signs of age hierarchy, when adults and young animals from older broods occupy a higher social position. Brandt's voles have well-defined cooperation: members of the same family jointly defend their territory, dig holes and underground tunnels, make nests, store food and raise offspring. Cooperation and family ties contribute to the survival of family groups of this species in the extreme climatic conditions of Central Asia.
Many features of the social behavior of Brandt's voles were studied in detail during observations of them in enclosures at the Scientific Experimental Base of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Chernogolovka" in the Moscow region. Such observations are unique. The data obtained expand our understanding of the ecology and social behavior of rodents.
Based on the results of many years of research and a review of literature data on the study of the ecology and social behavior of the Brandt’s vole, carried out by V.S. Gromov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, leading researcher at the Laboratory of Mammal Behavior and Behavioral Ecology of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an article was published in the “Journal of Arid Environments".
Gromov V.S., 2023. Ecology and social behavior of the Brandt’s vole: A generalized review // Journal of Arid Environments V.214. 104994. doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2023.104994