Why do alpine marmots hibernate

Increasing the number of individuals hibernating together thus leads to a reduction in energy costs through an increase in ambient temperature, a decrease in body temperature and the frequency of euthermie phases.

The decrease of energy costs translates into a reduction in loss of body mass Arnold but also increases the probability of the survival of the pups Arnold ; Allaine et al. If the relationship between increasing hibernating group size and reducing costs associated with hibernation is clearly established, then the composition of hibernating individuals in terms of age and sex also appears to have a significant impact.

The pups, because of their lesser body mass and lower body fat stores, they have a reduced thermal inertia. In addition, the pups awake for a shorter period of time, and come into euthermie phase last and leave first Arnold They passively take advantage of the energy spent by adult individuals, a phenomenon called social thermoregulation.

Hibernation for the pups is the most expensive from its point of view, than it is from the perspective of the group. While social hibernation is crucial to the survival of the pups Arnold ; Allaine et al. On the contrary, the increased number of hibernating adult males seems to benefit the group. Specifically, a positive correlation between number of adult males and the survival of the pups was observed Arnold ; Allaine et al.

Behavioral Ecology 11, Behavioral Ecology 15, Arnold W Social thermoregulation during hibernation in alpine marmots Marmota marmota.

Arnold W The evolution of marmot sociality: II. Costs and benefits of joint hibernation. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27, Arnold W Social evolution in marmots and the adaptive value of joint hibernation. Verhandlungen der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft 86, Mammalia 27, Florant GL Lipid metabolism in hibernators: The importance of essential fatty acids.

American Zoologist 38, The mating season for alpine marmots occurs in the spring, right after their hibernation period comes to a close, which gives their offspring the highest possible chance of storing enough fat to survive the coming winter. Alpine marmots are able to breed once they reach an age of two years. Once the female is pregnant , she will take bedding materials such as grass into the burrow for when she gives birth after a gestation period of 33—34 days.

Each litter consists of between one and seven babies , though this number is usually three. The babies are born blind and will grow dark fur within several days.

The weaning period takes a further forty days, during which time the mother will leave the young in the burrow while she searches for food. After this period, the offspring will come out of the burrow and search for solid food themselves. Their fur becomes the same color as other alpine marmots by the end of the summer, and after two years they will have reached their full size. If kept in captivity , alpine marmots can live up to 15—18 years.

As the summer begins to end, alpine marmots will gather old stems in their burrows in order to serve as bedding for their impending hibernation, which can start as early as October.

They seal the burrow with a combination of earth and their own faeces. Once winter arrives, alpine marmots will huddle next to each other and begin hibernation, a process which lowers their heart rate to five beats per minute and breathing to 1—3 breaths per minute, which uses up their stored fat supplies slowly, and usually allows them to survive the winter.

Some alpine marmots will starve to death due to their layer of fat running out; this is most likely to happen in younger individuals. Alpine marmots used to be widely hunted due to the belief that their fat would ease rheumatism when rubbed on the skin and also for eating. Hunting of the alpine marmot still occurs for sport as well as its fat. Hunting is not a danger to the species as long as well regulated, as they are relatively slow at breeding.

In general the alpine marmot is currently not in danger of extinction, but certain sub-populations of marmot may be threatened such as those in the Jura and in Germany. There is a population in Rodna that is very small and threatened by poaching. Alpine marmot facts for kids Kids Encyclopedia Facts. Quick facts for kids. Despite being neighbours, interactions between the families are limited and often hostile.

Individuals in the family use the scent of their faeces to mark out the boundaries of their territory. In this way, it is clear which territory belongs to which group.

Marmots hibernate for around two hundred days per year, losing around a third of their body mass. During this period, they live off their reserves of fat. They do not sleep constantly but have short periods of wakefulness which are believed to help regulate their body temperatures. Newborn marmots spend the first months of their life racing to eat enough to survive their first hibernation.

Marmots are often known as whistlepigs or whistlers in Canada, due to their distinctive calls. The ski area of Whistler was re-named after the marmots which live there. The original name was London Mountain, due to the rainy, foggy climate. When it was developed as a resort, people considered the new name more attractive to tourists. After the Americas split from Eurasia around forty million years ago, rodent species evolved independently on both landmasses.

Marmots first appeared around 15 million years ago in North America. Eurasian marmot species have evolved from marmots that crossed the Bering Strait into Eurasia around one million years ago. The ancient Persian word for marmot means mountain ant. The marmots there burrow in sandy, gold-bearing soil, collecting it on their fur. Historians now believe that the tribesmen used to extract gold from this sand that the marmots carried to the surface.

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