Climate change is altering the physiology and phenology of an arctic hibernator

• Main Authors: Chmura, Helen, Duncan, Cassandra, Burrell, Grace, Barnes, Brian M., Buck, C. Loren, Williams, Cory T.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2023
• Subjects: Arctic Ground Squirrel; Phenology; hibernation physiology; body temperature; soil temperature; Air temperature; Arctic ground squirrel; Climate change; permafrost; Urocitellus parryii; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.pzgmsbcqq

Climate warming is rapid in the Arctic, yet impacts to biological systems are unclear because few long-term studies linking biophysiological processes with environmental conditions exist for this data-poor region. In our study spanning 25 years in the Alaskan Arctic, we demonstrate that climate change is affecting the timing of freeze-thaw cycles in the active layer of permafrost soils and altering the physiology of arctic ground squirrels ( Urocitellus parryii ). Soil freeze has been delayed and, in response, arctic ground squirrels have delayed when they up-regulate heat production during torpor to prevent freezing. Further, the termination of hibernation in spring has advanced 4 days per decade in females but not males. Continued warming and phenological shifts will alter hibernation energetics, change the seasonal availability of this important prey species, and potentially disrupt intraspecific interactions. Funding provided by: National Science Foundation Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001 Award Number: IOS-1558056 Funding provided by: National Science Foundation Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001 Award Number: IOS- 1558160 Funding provided by: University of Alaska Fairbanks Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012574 Award Number: Centennial Postdoctoral Fellowship Funding provided by: National Institute of General Medical Sciences Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000057 Award Number: NIH: P20GM103395 Funding provided by: University of Alaska Fairbanks Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012574 Award Number: URSA undergraduate research award