Comparison of Morphological Versus Molecular Characters for Discriminating Between Sympatric Meadow and Prairie Voles

摘要: Abstract Prairie (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow (M. pennsylvanicus) voles are morphologically very similar species of rodents that often found sympatrically. To assess the reliability morphological characters typically used to differentiate between these two species, we compared concordance identification based on characteristics with identifications a species-specific difference within avpr1a gene. We intraspecific variation in resulted erroneous or ambiguous field (generally ≤5%) as well for preserved specimens (up ∼45%). Our data suggests genotyping putative M. ochrogaster pennsylvanicus at their locus may be warranted some individuals ensure accurate identification.