What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack?
International audience The presence of a snowpack, which may last up to 9 months in the Arctic, can provide insulation from the cold winter temperature for small mammals living beneath it, such as lemmings. Since lemmings have to move through the snowpack during that period, it is important to bette...
Published in: | Journal of Mammalogy |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | French |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-02393173 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 |
id |
ftutoulouse3hal:oai:HAL:hal-02393173v1 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier: HAL-UPS |
op_collection_id |
ftutoulouse3hal |
language |
French |
topic |
movement snow small mammals Arctic ecology lemming [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology |
spellingShingle |
movement snow small mammals Arctic ecology lemming [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology Poirier, Mathilde Gauthier, Gilles Dominé, Florent What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
topic_facet |
movement snow small mammals Arctic ecology lemming [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology |
description |
International audience The presence of a snowpack, which may last up to 9 months in the Arctic, can provide insulation from the cold winter temperature for small mammals living beneath it, such as lemmings. Since lemmings have to move through the snowpack during that period, it is important to better understand how the physical properties of snow affect the way they dig tunnels. Here, we tested 1) whether lemmings systematically dig in the snowpack at the ground level where they can find their food plants, and 2) whether they choose the softest snow layer in which to dig, which is usually the depth hoar layer in the arctic snowpack. We found 33 lemming tunnels in 2017 and 2018 by digging through the snow at the sites of arctic fox attacks on lemmings. Contrary to our expectation, almost all the tunnels (32/33) were found to be higher than ground level, probably because of the presence of obstacles (i.e., melt-freeze crusts or hummocks) at the base of the snowpack. As predicted, all tunnels were dug in the soft depth hoar layer, which had a lower density than snow layers below and above it. Lemmings also showed a preference to dig their tunnels at the top of the depth hoar, just below a hard snow layer. Systematically digging their tunnels in the lowest-density snow layer, regardless of its height in the snow pack, could be a strategy for lemmings to minimize energy expenditure, which could improve their survival and chances of reproducing in winter. La présence d'un manteau neigeux, qui peut durer jusqu'à 9 mois en Arctique, assure une protection contre le froid pour certains petits mammifères qui s'y abritent pendant l'hiver, tels les lemmings. Cette neige est également susceptible d'affecter leurs mouvements, mais l'endroit exact où les lemmings creusent dans la neige pour se déplacer demeure peu connu. Nous avons donc testé 1) si les lemmings creusent toujours au niveau du sol, près de la végétation dont ils se nourrissent, et 2) s'ils choisissent la couche la plus molle pour creuser, généralement le givre ... |
author2 |
Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'Innovation pour les Technologies des Energies Nouvelles et les nanomatériaux (LITEN) Institut National de L'Energie Solaire (INES) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Technologique (CEA) (DRT (CEA)) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) Takuvik Joint International Laboratory ULAVAL-CNRS Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Poirier, Mathilde Gauthier, Gilles Dominé, Florent |
author_facet |
Poirier, Mathilde Gauthier, Gilles Dominé, Florent |
author_sort |
Poirier, Mathilde |
title |
What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
title_short |
What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
title_full |
What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
title_fullStr |
What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
title_full_unstemmed |
What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
title_sort |
what guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-02393173 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 |
genre |
Arctic Fox Arctic Arctique* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Fox Arctic Arctique* |
op_source |
ISSN: 0022-2372 EISSN: 1545-1542 Journal of Mammalogy https://hal.science/hal-02393173 Journal of Mammalogy, 2019, 100 (5), pp.1 - 11. ⟨10.1093/jmammal/gyz129⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 hal-02393173 https://hal.science/hal-02393173 doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
100 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1416 |
op_container_end_page |
1426 |
_version_ |
1799471909509791744 |
spelling |
ftutoulouse3hal:oai:HAL:hal-02393173v1 2024-05-19T07:33:51+00:00 What guides lemmings movements through the snowpack? Poirier, Mathilde Gauthier, Gilles Dominé, Florent Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'Innovation pour les Technologies des Energies Nouvelles et les nanomatériaux (LITEN) Institut National de L'Energie Solaire (INES) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Technologique (CEA) (DRT (CEA)) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) Takuvik Joint International Laboratory ULAVAL-CNRS Université Laval Québec (ULaval)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2019 https://hal.science/hal-02393173 https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 fr fre HAL CCSD American Society of Mammalogists info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 hal-02393173 https://hal.science/hal-02393173 doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 ISSN: 0022-2372 EISSN: 1545-1542 Journal of Mammalogy https://hal.science/hal-02393173 Journal of Mammalogy, 2019, 100 (5), pp.1 - 11. ⟨10.1093/jmammal/gyz129⟩ movement snow small mammals Arctic ecology lemming [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2019 ftutoulouse3hal https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz129 2024-04-25T01:14:44Z International audience The presence of a snowpack, which may last up to 9 months in the Arctic, can provide insulation from the cold winter temperature for small mammals living beneath it, such as lemmings. Since lemmings have to move through the snowpack during that period, it is important to better understand how the physical properties of snow affect the way they dig tunnels. Here, we tested 1) whether lemmings systematically dig in the snowpack at the ground level where they can find their food plants, and 2) whether they choose the softest snow layer in which to dig, which is usually the depth hoar layer in the arctic snowpack. We found 33 lemming tunnels in 2017 and 2018 by digging through the snow at the sites of arctic fox attacks on lemmings. Contrary to our expectation, almost all the tunnels (32/33) were found to be higher than ground level, probably because of the presence of obstacles (i.e., melt-freeze crusts or hummocks) at the base of the snowpack. As predicted, all tunnels were dug in the soft depth hoar layer, which had a lower density than snow layers below and above it. Lemmings also showed a preference to dig their tunnels at the top of the depth hoar, just below a hard snow layer. Systematically digging their tunnels in the lowest-density snow layer, regardless of its height in the snow pack, could be a strategy for lemmings to minimize energy expenditure, which could improve their survival and chances of reproducing in winter. La présence d'un manteau neigeux, qui peut durer jusqu'à 9 mois en Arctique, assure une protection contre le froid pour certains petits mammifères qui s'y abritent pendant l'hiver, tels les lemmings. Cette neige est également susceptible d'affecter leurs mouvements, mais l'endroit exact où les lemmings creusent dans la neige pour se déplacer demeure peu connu. Nous avons donc testé 1) si les lemmings creusent toujours au niveau du sol, près de la végétation dont ils se nourrissent, et 2) s'ils choisissent la couche la plus molle pour creuser, généralement le givre ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Fox Arctic Arctique* Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier: HAL-UPS Journal of Mammalogy 100 5 1416 1426 |