Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals
Abstract Several species of Arctic mammals have brown hair in the summer and molt into a white pelage in the winter. It is unknown whether characteristics other than color of the hair also change during the color transition between seasons. We borrowed guard hair samples from museums to represent su...
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Language: | English |
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x 2024-06-02T07:54:51+00:00 Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals Russell, John E. Tumlison, Renn 1996 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Acta Zoologica volume 77, issue 4, page 279-282 ISSN 0001-7272 1463-6395 journal-article 1996 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x 2024-05-03T11:48:52Z Abstract Several species of Arctic mammals have brown hair in the summer and molt into a white pelage in the winter. It is unknown whether characteristics other than color of the hair also change during the color transition between seasons. We borrowed guard hair samples from museums to represent summer and winter pelages of five species: Alopex lagopus (Arctic fox), Lepus americanus (snowshoe hare), Lepus Arcticus (Arctic hare), Mustela erminea (ermine) and Mustela nivalis (least weasel). Micro‐structural differences exist between the brown and white hairs. In general, white winter hairs had larger upper shaft medullas comprising more air‐filled cells and smaller lower shafts. These structural changes may function in conservation of heat or in increasing light reflection to whiten the fur and aid as camouflage. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox Arctic hare Arctic Ermine Least Lepus arcticus Mustela erminea Mustela nivalis Wiley Online Library Arctic Acta Zoologica 77 4 279 282 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Several species of Arctic mammals have brown hair in the summer and molt into a white pelage in the winter. It is unknown whether characteristics other than color of the hair also change during the color transition between seasons. We borrowed guard hair samples from museums to represent summer and winter pelages of five species: Alopex lagopus (Arctic fox), Lepus americanus (snowshoe hare), Lepus Arcticus (Arctic hare), Mustela erminea (ermine) and Mustela nivalis (least weasel). Micro‐structural differences exist between the brown and white hairs. In general, white winter hairs had larger upper shaft medullas comprising more air‐filled cells and smaller lower shafts. These structural changes may function in conservation of heat or in increasing light reflection to whiten the fur and aid as camouflage. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Russell, John E. Tumlison, Renn |
spellingShingle |
Russell, John E. Tumlison, Renn Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals |
author_facet |
Russell, John E. Tumlison, Renn |
author_sort |
Russell, John E. |
title |
Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals |
title_short |
Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals |
title_full |
Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals |
title_fullStr |
Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Comparison of Microstructure of White Winter Fur and Brown Summer Fur of Some Arctic Mammals |
title_sort |
comparison of microstructure of white winter fur and brown summer fur of some arctic mammals |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox Arctic hare Arctic Ermine Least Lepus arcticus Mustela erminea Mustela nivalis |
genre_facet |
Alopex lagopus Arctic Fox Arctic hare Arctic Ermine Least Lepus arcticus Mustela erminea Mustela nivalis |
op_source |
Acta Zoologica volume 77, issue 4, page 279-282 ISSN 0001-7272 1463-6395 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6395.1996.tb01272.x |
container_title |
Acta Zoologica |
container_volume |
77 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
279 |
op_container_end_page |
282 |
_version_ |
1800744023019749376 |