Marmots on the move? Dispersal in a declining montane mammal
Giffin SC, Griffin PC, Taper ML, Mills LS. 2009. Marmots on the move? Dispersal in a declining montane mammal. Journal of Mammalogy. 90(3):686-695
From the Abstract: "Olympic marmots (Marmota olympus) are large, burrowing rodents inhabiting scattered subalpine meadows on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Recently, the population has declined and become increasingly fragmented. The ability of Olympic marmots to recolonize abandoned habitat and to maintain gene flow among extant populations will depend on the number and success of dispersers and the distances that they travel. We monitored 84 radiotagged Olympic marmots to determine dispersal rates, distances, and success. Contrary to previous observations, 3-year-olds were most likely to disperse, although some 2-year-olds and even some older animals, particularly males, moved as well. ... If the observed dispersal patterns are representative of range-wide patterns and if Olympic marmot densities remain low, susccessful dispersal may be too infrequent to sustain reliable recolonization of vacant habitats or even genetic or demographic rescue of isolated marmot groups."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Giffin, Suzanne; Griffin, Paul; Taper, Mark; Mills, L.
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- Dispersal, Endemic, Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus), Radiotelemetry, Subalpine