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shared by Hunter Cutting on 21 Jul 10 -

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Marmots fatten up on climate change
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Rodent population boom linked to bigger bellies and longer summers.
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In the Upper East River Valley of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventis) are thriving thanks to climate change. The rodents' startling population boom — their numbers have tripled in ten years — has now been linked to the increasing size of their bellies, which is probably caused by climate-driven changes in hibernation patterns
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The marmots may not enjoy a permanent population boom. Ozgul says that his team is on the lookout for longer-term effects, such as drought-induced food shortages or predation by coyotes and foxes, which might check the population. "Most ecological studies last 2–3 years, the fieldwork of a graduate student, but these animals live 14 years. If you were to study the effect of climate change [a typical, short-term study] would tell us nothing," he says.
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