Yellow-bellied marmot

File:Marmota flaviventris standing S of Donahue Pass.jpg

Yellow-bellied marmots usually weigh from {{convert|1.6-5.2|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} when fully grown, though males typically weigh more than females.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S4HgCwAAQBAJ|title=Mammals of Colorado|edition=Second|last1=Armstrong|first1=David M.|last2=Fitzgerald|first2=James P.|last3=Meaney|first3=Carron A.|date=2010-12-21|publisher=University Press of Colorado|isbn=9781607320487|language=en}} The weight fluctuates quite drastically through the year, with the least measured in early spring and the most measured in early autumn.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9IlOhvOAIb4C|title=The Natural History of Canadian Mammals|last1=Naughton|first1=Donna|last2=Nature|first2=Canadian Museum of|date=2012|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9781442644830|language=en}} Adult males typically weigh between {{convert|3-5|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} and adult females typically weigh between {{convert|1.6-4|kg|lb|frac=2|abbr=on}}. They measure from {{convert|47-68|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length, have a short tail measuring {{convert|13-21|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} with buffy, reddish and black hairs and hindfoot measuring {{convert|7-9|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}}.

They have a rather frosty appearance with some of the guard hairs having pale tips with dark bands. The yellow-bellied marmot has a broad and flat skull, dark head, and a dark nose with a white furry patch. The pelage comprises coarse, long outer hairs and woolly, shorter underfurs. They have a brown coat, a white patch of fur on the snout in front of the eyes. Due to the bright yellow fur on their belly, sides of the neck, and throat, they get their scientific and common names. Their ears are small and round, measuring {{convert|1.8-2.2|cm|in|frac=16|abbr=on}} in length, having a short white muzzle.{{cite web|url=http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/yellow-bellied_marmot_712.html|title=Yellow-bellied Marmot|website=Washington NatureMapping Program|publisher=NatureMapping|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322112416/http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/yellow-bellied_marmot_712.html|archive-date=2017-03-22|access-date=January 4, 2014}} Their back is reddish-brown in color with grizzled black and light-grey tan. Their feet are yellowish to dark brown to in color. They gain additional fat reserves in the autumn, in preparation for hibernation.

Marmots have an average lifespan of 15 years, which is relatively high given their body size.{{Cite journal |last=Pinho |first=Gabriela M. |last2=Martin |first2=Julien G. A. |last3=Farrell |first3=Colin |last4=Haghani |first4=Amin |last5=Zoller |first5=Joseph A. |last6=Zhang |first6=Joshua |last7=Snir |first7=Sagi |last8=Pellegrini |first8=Matteo |last9=Wayne |first9=Robert K. |last10=Blumstein |first10=Daniel T. |last11=Horvath |first11=Steve |date=April 2022 |title=Hibernation slows epigenetic ageing in yellow-bellied marmots |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01679-1 |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=418–426 |doi=10.1038/s41559-022-01679-1 |issn=2397-334X}} This is a common occurrence with hibernators, as hibernation has been shown to slow the process of epigenetic ageing.

File:Marmot-edit1.jpg, Yosemite National Park|left]]

The yellow-bellied marmot lives in southwestern Canada and western United States, including the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Northwards, its range extends into the southern British Columbia and goes eastwards up to the montane and basin regions of Wyoming, eastern Montana, Colorado, and southern Alberta. Southwards, its range extends into northern New Mexico.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KI1AmzIDnwC|title=Land Mammals of Oregon|last1=Verts|first1=B. J.|last2=Carraway|first2=Leslie N.|date=1998|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520211995|language=en}} It inhabits steppes, meadows, talus fields, and other open habitats, sometimes on the edge of deciduous or coniferous forests. In Colorado, they are found from as low as {{convert|5400|ft|m|-2|order=flip|abbr=on}} to over {{convert|14000|ft|m|-2|order=flip|abbr=on}} of elevation. In central and eastern Washington, they are common at low elevations.{{cite news |last1=Nash |first1=Matthew |title=Rock chuck takes rare trip to Sequim |url=https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/rock-chuck-takes-rare-trip-to-sequim/ |work=Peninsula Daily News |date=9 May 2021}}

They are found in valleys, meadows, and foothills, and tend to occupy open areas which are free of vegetation. Their territory is about {{convert|6|acres|ha|order=flip|abbr=off|round=0.5}} around a number of burrows dug during the summer. Although they sometimes burrow underneath trees and buildings, they typically choose to dig burrows under rocks, as it is less likely to be visible to predators.{{Cite journal |last=Zeiner |first=D.C. |last2=Laudenslayer |first2=W.F. |last3=Mayer |first3=K.E. |last4=White |first4=M. |last5=Johnson |first5=V. |last6=Harris |first6=J. |date=1990 |title=California's Wildlife |journal=California Depart. of Fish and Game |volume=1-3}} These predators include foxes, dogs, coyotes, wolves, and eagles. Upon seeing a predator, the yellow-bellied marmot whistles to warn the others in the area,{{efn|This gives the Yellow-bellied marmot the nickname "whistle pig".}} after which it typically hides in a nearby rock pile until there is no more threat.

Yellow-bellied marmots spend about 80% of their lives in their burrows, 60% of which is spent hibernation.{{cite journal |last=Svendsen |first=Gerald E |date=January 10, 1976 |title=Structure and Location of Burrows of Yellow-Bellied Marmot |journal=The Southwestern Naturalist |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=487–493 |bibcode=1976SWNat..20..487S |doi=10.2307/3669865 |jstor=3669865}} They often spend mid-day and night in a burrow as well. These burrows are usually constructed on a slope, such as a hill, mountain, or cliff. The hibernating burrows can be up to {{convert|5-7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep; however, the burrows constructed for daily use are usually only {{convert|1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} deep. Their hibernation period varies on elevation, but it is typically from September to May. Although they hibernate, they do not store food for the winter. Much of their active season is spent accumulating enough fat to survive hibernation.{{Cite journal |last=Blumstein |first=Daniel T. |date=2013-05-19 |title=Yellow-bellied marmots: insights from an emergent view of sociality |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2012.0349 |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=368 |issue=1618 |pages=20120349 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2012.0349 |issn=0962-8436 |pmc=3638452 |pmid=23569297}} Occasionally, they climb trees and other flora, though they are usually terrestrial.

File:Young Yellow-bellied Marmot suckling.jpg]]

Image:Marmots Eating Trash.jpg, CA]]

Marmots have a single, 2-week long breeding season annually. Marmots reproduce starting at around two years of age, and may live up to an age of fifteen. They can live alone, in pairs, or in colonies of about ten to twenty individuals.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZY2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA113|title=Modoc National Forest (N.F.), Sage Steppe Ecosystem Restoration Strategy: Environmental Impact Statement|year=2008|pages=113|language=en}} Each male marmot digs a burrow soon after it wakes from hibernation, and starts looking for females to reproduce. By summer, it may have up to four female mates. Litters usually average three to five offspring per female.{{cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Marmota_flaviventris.html|title=Marmota flaviventris|first=S.|year=2012|publisher=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology|author=Hwang|work=Animal Diversity Web|access-date=2007-09-12}} Only about half of those pups survive and become yearlings. Marmots have a "harem-polygynous" mating system in which the male reproduces with two or three females at the same time. Colonies are composed of one or more of these harems. Although typical only the females tend to be monogamous, males can be monogamous in an environment with fewer females.{{Cite journal |last=Maher |first=Christine R. |last2=Duron |first2=Melissa |date=2010-06-16 |title=Mating system and paternity in woodchucks (Marmota monax) |url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-abstract/91/3/628/839470?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=628–635 |doi=10.1644/09-MAMM-A-324.1 |issn=0022-2372}} Female offspring tend to stay in the area around their home, while male offspring typically leave when they are yearlings and will defend one or more females.

Like many marmot species, the yellow-bellied marmot is a highly social animal. Yellow-bellied marmots demonstrate social behaviors including the visiting of burrows, greeting of colony members, and play-fighting.{{Cite journal |last=Armitage |first=Kenneth B. |date=1962-07-01 |title=Social behaviour of a colony of the yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0003347262900556?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=91a45be878f20c88 |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=319–331 |doi=10.1016/0003-3472(62)90055-6 |issn=0003-3472}} Playing is most common between young, but also frequent between an adult and their young. Marmots communicate with each other through a high pitched whistle. Depending on how sharp the whistle, colony members respond by either observing their surroundings, or returning to their burrows.

File:Yellow-bellied marmot sunning on a boulder - Flickr - YellowstoneNPS.jpg

Daily activities of marmots consist of grooming, sunning, feeding, digging, and residing in their burrows. Marmots typically start their day by emerging from their burrows. They then groom each other and lay in the sun before feeding.

Yellow-bellied marmots are diurnal, and are less active during the night.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7EfAQAAMAAJ|title=Social behavior, foraging, and reproduction in female yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris).|last=Stallman|first=Elizabeth L.|publisher=University of Michigan.|year=2001|isbn=9780493416687|pages=96|language=en}} They are omnivores, but generally eat a wide variety of plants, as they are generalist herbivores.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC|title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation|last1=Feldhamer|first1=George A.|last2=Thompson|first2=Bruce C.|last3=Chapman|first3=Joseph A.|date=2003-10-21|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9780801874161|language=en}} They mostly feed on grass, grains, leaves, flowers, legumes, bird eggs, and insects. Occasionally, they are also known to eat fruits and bark of fruit trees. In food choice experiments, yellow-bellied marmots are known to reject plants containing defensive compounds. Due to this, they consume flowers of lupines, larkspur, and columbine, but avoid their shoots containing toxic compounds.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NAOVkgr_eVgC&pg=PA39|title=Marmots: Social Behavior and Ecology|last=Barash|first=David P.|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=1989|isbn=9780804715348|pages=39|language=en}} Their food choice depends upon the fatty acid and protein concentrations, which are well present in cinquefoil, cow-parsnip, and leaves of dandelion, which are also present in their diet. In late summer, however, grasses, forbs, and seeds make up most of their diet. They also like to feed on alfalfa and clover. They drink less water, as their plant diet mostly serves their water requirements.

Since 1996, the yellow-bellied marmot has been listed in the least concern category of the IUCN Red List of Endangered species. As there are no major threats to this species and it is protected in several areas throughout its range, there is not much concern for serious conservation efforts to be put in place.{{cite iucn |author=Cassola, F. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=Marmota flaviventris |volume=2016 |page=e.T42457A115189809 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T42457A22257543.en |access-date=12 April 2021}}

Due to their high-altitude environment, marmots are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.{{Cite web |last=Grogan |first=Kathleen |date=2020-10-15 |title=Marmots, seasons, and climate change |url=https://www.molecularecologist.com/2020/10/15/marmots-seasons-and-climate-change/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=The Molecular Ecologist |language=en-US}} Increasing temperatures have shifted the seasonality of marmot behavior, causing hibernation season to end sooner, and breeding season to start sooner.{{Cite journal |last=Ozgul |first=Arpat |last2=Childs |first2=Dylan Z. |last3=Oli |first3=Madan K. |last4=Armitage |first4=Kenneth B. |last5=Blumstein |first5=Daniel T. |last6=Olson |first6=Lucretia E. |last7=Tuljapurkar |first7=Shripad |last8=Coulson |first8=Tim |date=July 2010 |title=Coupled dynamics of body mass and population growth in response to environmental change |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09210 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=466 |issue=7305 |pages=482–485 |doi=10.1038/nature09210 |issn=1476-4687|hdl=1808/25903 |hdl-access=free }} This has resulted in a longer growing season, contributing to an increase in mean body mass and population growth.

{{Reflist}}

{{notelist}}

• {{ITIS |id=180140 |taxon=Marmota flaviventris |access-date=18 March 2006}}

{{Sister bar|auto=1}}

{{S. Xerinae1 nav}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q838113}}

{{Good article}}

Yellow-bellied

Yellow-bellied marmot

Category:Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States)

Category:Fauna of the Western United States

Category:Rodents of Canada

Category:Rodents of the United States

Yellow-bellied marmot

Yellow-bellied marmot