What do mice eat in the tundra? - briefly
In the Arctic tundra, mice survive on mosses, lichens, grasses, seeds, and occasional insects or bird eggs. Seasonal changes cause plant material to dominate in summer and stored seeds and insects to become more important in winter.
What do mice eat in the tundra? - in detail
Tundra‑dwelling rodents, primarily the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx spp.) and the Arctic meadow vole (Microtus oeconomus), survive on a diet that shifts with the brief growing season and the severe winter. During the summer months, vegetation is abundant; the animals consume the aerial parts of grasses, sedges, and dwarf shrubs, as well as mosses and lichens that form the ground cover. Seeds of willows, dwarf birches, and other low‑lying flora supplement the intake of carbohydrates and lipids.
In the autumn, when plant growth declines, the diet expands to include:
- Dry seed heads of grasses and sedges
- Fallen berries of Arctic crowberry and cloudberry
- Insects and their larvae, especially dipteran pupae found in moist soil
- Fungal fruiting bodies, primarily mycorrhizal mushrooms that emerge after the first thaw
Winter imposes a reliance on stored food and opportunistic foraging. Mice excavate subnivean tunnels to access buried plant material, such as:
- Root crowns and rhizomes of sedges and grasses
- Frozen moss and lichen layers, which provide limited protein and fiber
- Invertebrates that persist under the snowpack, including springtails and nematodes
Metabolic adaptations enable these mammals to convert low‑energy plant matter into body fat, which sustains them through periods of scarcity. The combination of herbivorous and opportunistic omnivorous feeding strategies ensures survival in the extreme Arctic environment.