An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares

Animals that change colour seasonally to match the presence and absence of snow are becoming increasingly mismatched with their environment in many parts of the world. We evaluated the direct and indirect impacts of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares in two contrasting geographies, and further i...

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Main Author: Kennah, Joanie
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/
https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/3/converted.pdf
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spelling ftmemorialuniv:oai:research.library.mun.ca:15758 2023-10-01T03:57:37+02:00 An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares Kennah, Joanie 2022-09 application/pdf https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/ https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/3/converted.pdf en eng Memorial University of Newfoundland https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/3/converted.pdf Kennah, Joanie <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Kennah=3AJoanie=3A=3A.html> (2022) An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland. thesis_license Thesis NonPeerReviewed 2022 ftmemorialuniv 2023-09-03T06:50:24Z Animals that change colour seasonally to match the presence and absence of snow are becoming increasingly mismatched with their environment in many parts of the world. We evaluated the direct and indirect impacts of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares in two contrasting geographies, and further investigated the mechanisms that may be driving these impacts. First, we examined the impact of coat colour mismatch on snowshoe hare mortality risk and foraging behaviour in southwestern Yukon. We found that white mismatched hares survived better than their matched counterparts, presumably due to energetic benefits related to winter white coats that allowed hares to spend less time foraging. Next, we experimentally manipulated coat colour mismatch and perceived predation risk in central-eastern Newfoundland. We found that mismatched hares in risky situations experience increased body mass loss, which they may compensate for by altering their forage selection and intake rate. Our results shine light on the mechanisms that govern coat colour mismatch impacts across populations in different geographies, and how animals may compensate for these impacts. Thesis Newfoundland Yukon Memorial University of Newfoundland: Research Repository Yukon
institution Open Polar
collection Memorial University of Newfoundland: Research Repository
op_collection_id ftmemorialuniv
language English
description Animals that change colour seasonally to match the presence and absence of snow are becoming increasingly mismatched with their environment in many parts of the world. We evaluated the direct and indirect impacts of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares in two contrasting geographies, and further investigated the mechanisms that may be driving these impacts. First, we examined the impact of coat colour mismatch on snowshoe hare mortality risk and foraging behaviour in southwestern Yukon. We found that white mismatched hares survived better than their matched counterparts, presumably due to energetic benefits related to winter white coats that allowed hares to spend less time foraging. Next, we experimentally manipulated coat colour mismatch and perceived predation risk in central-eastern Newfoundland. We found that mismatched hares in risky situations experience increased body mass loss, which they may compensate for by altering their forage selection and intake rate. Our results shine light on the mechanisms that govern coat colour mismatch impacts across populations in different geographies, and how animals may compensate for these impacts.
format Thesis
author Kennah, Joanie
spellingShingle Kennah, Joanie
An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
author_facet Kennah, Joanie
author_sort Kennah, Joanie
title An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
title_short An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
title_full An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
title_fullStr An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
title_full_unstemmed An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
title_sort evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares
publisher Memorial University of Newfoundland
publishDate 2022
url https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/
https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/3/converted.pdf
geographic Yukon
geographic_facet Yukon
genre Newfoundland
Yukon
genre_facet Newfoundland
Yukon
op_relation https://research.library.mun.ca/15758/3/converted.pdf
Kennah, Joanie <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Kennah=3AJoanie=3A=3A.html> (2022) An evaluation of the costs and responses of coat colour mismatch in snowshoe hares. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
op_rights thesis_license
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