Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer
The faeces and urine of microtine rodents are visible in ultraviolet light, and diurnal raptors, such as European kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and rough-legged buzzards (Buteo lagopus), have the ability to see in ultraviolet light. It has been reported that in Fennoscandia, these raptors use this ab...
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National Research Council Canada
1996
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ftunivtoronto:oai:localhost:1807/502 2023-05-15T14:55:12+02:00 Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer Boonstra, Rudy Krebs, Charles Kenney, Alice 1996 64065 bytes application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1807/502 en_CA eng National Research Council Canada Can. J. Zool. 74:1947-1949 (1996) http://hdl.handle.net/1807/502 Article 1996 ftunivtoronto 2020-06-17T11:06:23Z The faeces and urine of microtine rodents are visible in ultraviolet light, and diurnal raptors, such as European kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and rough-legged buzzards (Buteo lagopus), have the ability to see in ultraviolet light. It has been reported that in Fennoscandia, these raptors use this ability to concentrate their hunting activity in spring on areas where microtines are abundant. We hypothesized that in arctic tundra areas in summer, intense avian predation pressure and short vegetation should select for microtine behaviour that would minimize their exposure to these raptors. We dug up 62 collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) burrows in the Canadian Arctic and all had underground latrines. Latrines are not hidden underground in winter, when lemmings live under the snow, build nests above ground, and defecate above ground, nor does this occur in microtine species living in temperate areas, where summer vegetation growth is greater. Thus, high predation risk may influence not only where prey forage but also where they defecate. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Fennoscandia Tundra University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space Arctic Burrows ENVELOPE(163.650,163.650,-74.300,-74.300) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtoronto |
language |
English |
description |
The faeces and urine of microtine rodents are visible in ultraviolet light, and diurnal raptors, such as European kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and rough-legged buzzards (Buteo lagopus), have the ability to see in ultraviolet light. It has been reported that in Fennoscandia, these raptors use this ability to concentrate their hunting activity in spring on areas where microtines are abundant. We hypothesized that in arctic tundra areas in summer, intense avian predation pressure and short vegetation should select for microtine behaviour that would minimize their exposure to these raptors. We dug up 62 collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) burrows in the Canadian Arctic and all had underground latrines. Latrines are not hidden underground in winter, when lemmings live under the snow, build nests above ground, and defecate above ground, nor does this occur in microtine species living in temperate areas, where summer vegetation growth is greater. Thus, high predation risk may influence not only where prey forage but also where they defecate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Boonstra, Rudy Krebs, Charles Kenney, Alice |
spellingShingle |
Boonstra, Rudy Krebs, Charles Kenney, Alice Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
author_facet |
Boonstra, Rudy Krebs, Charles Kenney, Alice |
author_sort |
Boonstra, Rudy |
title |
Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
title_short |
Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
title_full |
Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
title_fullStr |
Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
title_sort |
why lemmings have indoor plumbing in summer |
publisher |
National Research Council Canada |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1807/502 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.650,163.650,-74.300,-74.300) |
geographic |
Arctic Burrows |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Burrows |
genre |
Arctic Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Fennoscandia Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Dicrostonyx groenlandicus Fennoscandia Tundra |
op_relation |
Can. J. Zool. 74:1947-1949 (1996) http://hdl.handle.net/1807/502 |
_version_ |
1766326987263049728 |