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Vancouver Island marmot
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Vancouver Island marmot
The Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) is a species of marmot endemic to Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.
M. vancouverensis lives above 1000 metres elevation in meadows that face south to west, and habitat scarceness is believed to be the primary reason for its rarity.
Marmot surveys have been conducted on Vancouver Island since 1979. Beginning in the 1980s, this species experienced an 80% to 90% decline in population, such that by 2006 only 32 adults remained in the wild. Since that time, the population has begun to increase as a result of an ongoing program to restore wild populations of this unique Canadian species. As of the fall of 2021, there were just over 250 wild marmots living in 25 colonies distributed between two metapopulations, and one isolated colony at Steamboat Mountain.
M. vancouverensis is typical of marmots in phenotype. It can however be distinguished from other marmots by its chocolate brown fur and contrasting white patches. The only species of marmot endemic to Vancouver Island, it apparently evolved rapidly since the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet some 10,000 years ago. It is distinct from other marmot species in terms of morphology, genetics, behaviour, and ecology.
An adult Vancouver Island marmot typically measures 65 to 70 centimetres from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. However, weights show tremendous seasonal variation. An adult female that weighs 3 kilograms when she emerges from hibernation in late April can weigh 4.5 to 5.5 kg by the onset of hibernation in late September or October. Adult males can be even larger, reaching weights of over 7.5 kg. In general, marmots lose about one-third of their body mass during the six-and-a-half months in which they hibernate during winter.
Like all marmots, the Vancouver Island marmot is exclusively herbivorous. Over 30 varieties of plants have been observed being consumed by marmots on Vancouver Island, who typically switch from grasses in the early spring to plants like lupines in the late summer. Marmots hibernate for various amounts of time depending upon site characteristics and weather conditions. Wild Vancouver Island marmots hibernate, on average, for about 210 days of the year, generally from late September or early October until late April or early May. They generally hibernate for shorter periods in captivity.
Vancouver Island marmots typically first breed at three or four years of age, although some have been observed to breed as two-year-olds. Male marmots have been noticed to mate with 2 or more females during mating season. Marmots breed soon after emergence from hibernation. Gestation is thought to be approximately 30–35 days. Litter sizes average 1–6 pups every other year, and weaned pups generally emerge above ground for the first time in early July.
Causes of marmot population declines are numerous. Over the long term (i.e., periods involving thousands of years), climate changes have caused both increases and declines of open alpine habitat that constitute suitable marmot habitat. Over more recent time scales, population dynamics may have been influenced by short-term weather patterns and systematic changes in the landscape. In particular, forest clearcutting at low elevations likely altered dispersal patterns. Sub-adult marmots typically disperse from the subalpine meadows in which they were born. Dispersal involves traversing lowland conifer forests and valleys to other subalpine meadows. However, clearcutting has provided marmots with new open areas which constitute habitat. Unfortunately, rapid forest regeneration makes such man-made habitats unsuitable over a few years. One study concluded that clearcuts therefore act as a kind of population "sink" in which long-term reproduction and survival rates are reduced to the point of unsustainability One 2005 study concluded the main cause of recent decline to be predation "associated with forestry and altered predator abundance and hunting patterns". This study also revealed seasonal variations in mortality rates, where the probability of death was low during hibernation, and high in August. Major predators upon Vancouver Island marmots include golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), cougars (Puma concolor) and wolves (Canis lupus).
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Vancouver Island marmot
The Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) is a species of marmot endemic to Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.
M. vancouverensis lives above 1000 metres elevation in meadows that face south to west, and habitat scarceness is believed to be the primary reason for its rarity.
Marmot surveys have been conducted on Vancouver Island since 1979. Beginning in the 1980s, this species experienced an 80% to 90% decline in population, such that by 2006 only 32 adults remained in the wild. Since that time, the population has begun to increase as a result of an ongoing program to restore wild populations of this unique Canadian species. As of the fall of 2021, there were just over 250 wild marmots living in 25 colonies distributed between two metapopulations, and one isolated colony at Steamboat Mountain.
M. vancouverensis is typical of marmots in phenotype. It can however be distinguished from other marmots by its chocolate brown fur and contrasting white patches. The only species of marmot endemic to Vancouver Island, it apparently evolved rapidly since the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet some 10,000 years ago. It is distinct from other marmot species in terms of morphology, genetics, behaviour, and ecology.
An adult Vancouver Island marmot typically measures 65 to 70 centimetres from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. However, weights show tremendous seasonal variation. An adult female that weighs 3 kilograms when she emerges from hibernation in late April can weigh 4.5 to 5.5 kg by the onset of hibernation in late September or October. Adult males can be even larger, reaching weights of over 7.5 kg. In general, marmots lose about one-third of their body mass during the six-and-a-half months in which they hibernate during winter.
Like all marmots, the Vancouver Island marmot is exclusively herbivorous. Over 30 varieties of plants have been observed being consumed by marmots on Vancouver Island, who typically switch from grasses in the early spring to plants like lupines in the late summer. Marmots hibernate for various amounts of time depending upon site characteristics and weather conditions. Wild Vancouver Island marmots hibernate, on average, for about 210 days of the year, generally from late September or early October until late April or early May. They generally hibernate for shorter periods in captivity.
Vancouver Island marmots typically first breed at three or four years of age, although some have been observed to breed as two-year-olds. Male marmots have been noticed to mate with 2 or more females during mating season. Marmots breed soon after emergence from hibernation. Gestation is thought to be approximately 30–35 days. Litter sizes average 1–6 pups every other year, and weaned pups generally emerge above ground for the first time in early July.
Causes of marmot population declines are numerous. Over the long term (i.e., periods involving thousands of years), climate changes have caused both increases and declines of open alpine habitat that constitute suitable marmot habitat. Over more recent time scales, population dynamics may have been influenced by short-term weather patterns and systematic changes in the landscape. In particular, forest clearcutting at low elevations likely altered dispersal patterns. Sub-adult marmots typically disperse from the subalpine meadows in which they were born. Dispersal involves traversing lowland conifer forests and valleys to other subalpine meadows. However, clearcutting has provided marmots with new open areas which constitute habitat. Unfortunately, rapid forest regeneration makes such man-made habitats unsuitable over a few years. One study concluded that clearcuts therefore act as a kind of population "sink" in which long-term reproduction and survival rates are reduced to the point of unsustainability One 2005 study concluded the main cause of recent decline to be predation "associated with forestry and altered predator abundance and hunting patterns". This study also revealed seasonal variations in mortality rates, where the probability of death was low during hibernation, and high in August. Major predators upon Vancouver Island marmots include golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), cougars (Puma concolor) and wolves (Canis lupus).
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