image: Yellow-bellied marmot pup, Rocky Mountains, Colorado. view more
Credit: Image credit: Graeme Shannon (Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom).
Researchers examine how climate change influences the seasonal survival of yellow-bellied marmots. Seasonal environmental conditions drive the behaviors and life histories of many organisms. However, climate change is altering the conditions to which many species are adapted. Analyzing life history data collected between 1979 and 2018, Line Cordes and colleagues examined how yellow-bellied marmots living in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado have responded to climate change during the short active season in summer and the long hibernation season in winter. Over the course of four decades, marmot survival increased in summer and decreased in winter, and the effects were greatest among pups and yearlings. Environmental factors driving survival trends differed among pups, yearlings, and adults. Drought severity primarily influenced pup and adult survival during winter. High winter survival of pups followed short, wet summers. Continued climate change will likely affect overall marmot survival positively during summer, while leaving marmots vulnerable during winter hibernation. The findings suggest that climate change may benefit certain species in one season while resulting in unfavorable conditions in another, according to the authors.
Article #19-18584: "Contrasting effects of climate change on seasonal survival of a hibernating mammal," by Line S. Cordes et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Line S. Cordes, Bangor University, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: 01248 470161, 44(0)1248 470161; email: l.cordes@bangor.ac.uk; Arpat Ozgul, University of Zurich, SWITZERLAND; tel: 44 635 4746, 41 44 635 4746; email: arpat.ozgul@ieu.uzh.ch
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences