Geographic Range
Grey marmots are found in the Palearctics. They inhabit the Altai Mountain range
in western Siberia (Russia), western Mongolia, eastern Kazakhstan and northern China.
Their geographic range also spans into the Tian Shan Mountain range of southeastern
Kazakhstan, eastern Kyrgyzstan, and northwestern China.
- Biogeographic Regions
- palearctic
Habitat
Grey marmots living in temperate climates occupy many different habitats including
tundra, taiga, grassland and mountains. Mountain habitats include both the Altai Mountain
Range and the Tian Shan Mountain range. In these mountainous habitats grey marmots
will be found near the top of ridges in cases where it is living in sympatry with
another other species of marmots including
Tarbagan marmots
. A large lower elevation grassland habitat grey marmost inhabit is located on the
east and west of Issyk Kul, a very large lake in Kyrgyzstan.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- tundra
- taiga
- savanna or grassland
- mountains
Physical Description
Grey Marmots are one of the largest marmots found in Asia. Their total length is 59.0
cm to 80.5 cm, with a short tail (13cm to 15cm) that accounts for less than a third
of their head-body length. The a weight of an adult on average varies from 4.25 kg
to 6.5 kg. They have a light greyish-brown fur covering their face all the way back
to the ears where it fades into thick sandy colored base coat with nearly black tips
of fur covering most of the pelt on their back. This gives their dorsal side a greyish
appearance and is also how they got their common name, grey marmot. Their tails, as
stated before, are relatively short compared to their body and are the same color
as the base coat except for a dark brown-black tip. They are low to the ground with
short thick legs and have small fur-covered ears.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Although not much is known about the mating system of grey marmots, most marmot groups
at similar latitudes were always thought be monogamous due to a lack of resources
and food. A 2006 study determined that this was not true in another species of marmots
that resides at a similar latitude. The study showed that smaller social groups of
marmots proved to be monogamous while marmots in large social groups were promiscuous.
Mating among grey marmots only occurs once a year, for about a month, starting in
the beginning of May and ending in the beginning of June. Only after they have reached
a mature age (3 years) will they begin mating. Just half of mature females will end
up mating each year. After a pair has mated the female undergoes a 40 day gestation
period and a live birth of a litter, usually consisting of 2 to 6 pups.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
After the female has given birth she will lactate for 30 days to feed her young, staying
with them in the burrow for a majority of time. There is no documentation of direct
paternal care by grey marmot males.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- male
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Little is known about the life span of grey marmots in the wild or in captivity. However
other species of marmots can live on average 12 to 14 years in the wild, with reports
of up to 18 years.
Behavior
Grey marmots are very social mammals and live in colonies consisting of anywhere from
6 to 20 individuals. These groups tend to be sessile, staying in one area, hibernating
instead of migrating. Hibernation usually starts in the time frame from late August
to early October and lasts 7 to 8 months. Summer burrows usually contain 2 to 3 individuals
and tend not to be as deep in the ground as winter burrows. Winter burrows are dug
deeper to help keep the occupants warm during hibernation. Also winter burrows can
house up to 10 individuals which helps to keep the occupants warm with added body
heat. During the summer months grey marmots are diurnal feeding during the day. Grey
marmots are not as territorial as their close relatives
Tarbagan marmots
, with whom they live in close sympatry.
Home Range
Grey marmots have a relatively small home range of .01 to .05 sq km, which is similar
to its more territorial relatives,
Tarbagan marmots
(.02 to .06 sq km).
Communication and Perception
Grey marmots communicate acoustically with alarms calls that indicate to other members
of the colony that danger is present. They also communicate nonverbally in times of
danger by flagging to the others with their tails. Pointing their tail straight up
in the air and then rapidly moving it up and down. Males also rubs his cheek at the
entrance of a burrow leaving his scent for mating purposes.
- Other Communication Modes
- pheromones
- scent marks
Food Habits
Grasses and herbaceous vegetation make up the majority of the diets of grey marmots.
In the spring when new vegetation begins to sprout fringed sagebrush (
Artemisia frigida
) is a favorite for grey marmots. They are also known to sometimes eat other small
animals, but it is not a large part of their diet.
- Animal Foods
- mammals
- amphibians
- reptiles
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- roots and tubers
- wood, bark, or stems
- flowers
- bryophytes
- lichens
Predation
The dark tips of fur on the ventral side of grey marmot coats give them some camouflage
from above. This allows them to blend in with some of the natural colors of the ground
helping with predator avoidance from large birds of prey such as eagles and hawks.
Also alarm calls and nonverbal "flagging" with their tails is another way grey marmots
avoid birds of prey, as well as terrestrial predators.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- aposematic
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
Grey marmots are a keystone species in the ecosystem, serving as a food source for
many different types of predators. Also the burrows dug out by them are used by other
animals, such as rattle snakes, that use the burrows to hide in and ambush their prey.
Grey marmots are also a host to many parasites like
mites
,
ticks
,
tapeworms
, and
fleas
.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
- creates habitat
- soil aeration
- mites ( Lorryia formosa )
- ticks ( Ixodes ricinus )
- tapeworms ( Ctenotaenia marmotae )
- fleas ( Ceratrophyllus silantievi )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Grey marmots aren't only consumed by birds of prey and wild animals, but is a part
of the diets for humans living in the region. Farmers use grey marmots as a source
of food and also use some body parts as a source of medicine. People in the region
also hunt and trap grey marmots using their pelts for trade.
- Positive Impacts
- food
- body parts are source of valuable material
- source of medicine or drug
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Tarbagan marmots
have been known to carry the Bubonic plague (
Yersinia pestis
) and by living in close sympatry with Tarbagan marmots, grey marmots could be carriers
of the plague, as well. They can carry with the disease if they are infected by common
parasites such as
ticks
or
fleas
. Humans using grey marmots as a food source could get the disease if they consume
infected meat.
- Negative Impacts
-
injures humans
- causes disease in humans
- carries human disease
- causes or carries domestic animal disease
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List considers grey marmots as Lower Risk or Least Concern on its list with
an estimated population of 600,000 individuals in Mongolia alone (approximately 16%
of the total population). There is a brief hunting season of about 2 months starting
on August 11th and lasting through October 15th.
Additional Links
Contributors
Lucas McGann (author), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Christopher Yahnke (editor), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Laura Podzikowski (editor), Special Projects.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tundra
-
A terrestrial biome with low, shrubby or mat-like vegetation found at extremely high latitudes or elevations, near the limit of plant growth. Soils usually subject to permafrost. Plant diversity is typically low and the growing season is short.
- taiga
-
Coniferous or boreal forest, located in a band across northern North America, Europe, and Asia. This terrestrial biome also occurs at high elevations. Long, cold winters and short, wet summers. Few species of trees are present; these are primarily conifers that grow in dense stands with little undergrowth. Some deciduous trees also may be present.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- fossorial
-
Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- hibernation
-
the state that some animals enter during winter in which normal physiological processes are significantly reduced, thus lowering the animal's energy requirements. The act or condition of passing winter in a torpid or resting state, typically involving the abandonment of homoiothermy in mammals.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- colonial
-
used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- pheromones
-
chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species
- scent marks
-
communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- aposematic
-
having coloration that serves a protective function for the animal, usually used to refer to animals with colors that warn predators of their toxicity. For example: animals with bright red or yellow coloration are often toxic or distasteful.
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- soil aeration
-
digs and breaks up soil so air and water can get in
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- drug
-
a substance used for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease
- causes disease in humans
-
an animal which directly causes disease in humans. For example, diseases caused by infection of filarial nematodes (elephantiasis and river blindness).
- causes or carries domestic animal disease
-
either directly causes, or indirectly transmits, a disease to a domestic animal
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
References
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Elton, C. 1925. Plague and the regulation of numbers in wild mammals. The Journal of Hygiene , 24(2): 138-161.
Hayssen, V. 2008. Patterns of body and tail length and body mass in Sciuridae. Journal of Mammalogy , 89(4): 852-873.
Hayssen, V. 2008. Reproductive effort in squirrels: ecological, phylogenetic, allometric, and latitudinal patterns. Journal of Mammalogy, , 89(3): 582-606.
Kolesnikov, V. 2010. Spatial distribution of Marmota baibacina and M. sibirica (Marmota, Sciuridae, Rodentia) in a zone of sympatry in Mongolian Altai: bioacoustic analysis. Biology Bulletin , 37(3): 380-384.
Rogovin, K. 1992. Habitat use by two species of Mongolian marmots (Marmota sibirica and M. baibacina) in a zone of sympatry. Acta Theriologica , 37: 345-350.
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