Marmota Bobak Research Articles

The place of the steppe marmot in steppe ecosystems of Ukraine: an historical approach

All natural settlements of the steppe marmot in Ukraine are described. The vegetation of steppe marmot habitats is described and the food preferences are determined. The dynamics of the steppe marmot numbers in the Kharkov and Lugansk regions during XIX-XX centuries was traced. The process of the progressive increase of livestock pressure on potential habitats of the steppe marmot is presented. This process caused the restoration of grazing ecosystems with the steppe marmot as one of the basic components. The key role of the anthropogenic factor in the dynamics of the fluctuation of Marmota bobak populations is described.

Increased frequency of the acoustic signal aberrations in the peripheral populations of the steppe marmot

Analysis of the frequency spectrum of the alarm call from the steppe marmot ( Marmota bobak Muller, 1776) demonstrated aberrations in all populations throughout the major part of the species area. In the peripheral part, deviations from the normal type were much more frequent than in the center of the area. In biological literature, aberration means a noticeable deviation from the wild phenotype of the species. In population phenetics, aberrations are usually assumed to result from mutations, though this has been confirmed directly only in a few natural populations. In this study, magnetic recordings of the vocal response of the steppe marmot to the presence of a human in the colony were collected under field conditions. By means of an acoustic signal, marmots alert their neighbors to the potential or real danger, including arrival of humans [1]. The signal was analyzed using the SpectraLab v.4.32.11 for Windows software. In total, the spectrograms obtained from 640 individuals from eight local populations were studied (table). The working names of the populations, their locations (the administrative region and district), and the year of collection are shown below.

A Mathematical Model of the Temperature Conditions of Mammalian Burrows as Exemplified by the Burrow of the Marmot Marmota bobak Mull., 1776

A Mathematical Model of the Temperature Conditions of Mammalian Burrows as Exemplified by the Burrow of the Marmot Marmota bobak Mull., 1776

An experimental transmission of woodchuck hepatitis virus to young Chinese marmots.

Fourteen young Chinese marmots (Marmota bobak sibirica Radde) were randomly allocated to two groups of seven each. They were injected intrahepatically with a standard woodchuck hepatitis virus challenge pool or a negative pool, prepared from sera of woodchucks with and without woodchuck hepatitis virus infection, respectively. Marmot No. 2 in the experimental group experienced an episode of seroconversion from woodchuck hepatitis surface antigen to anti-woodchuck hepatitis antibody. Woodchuck hepatitis virus DNA was detected, and woodchuck hepatitis surface antigen particles of both spherical and filamentous forms and intact woodchuck hepatitis virus virions were found in its serum. By contrast, none of the control group animals (receiving the negative pool) produced any marker of woodchuck hepatitis virus. This suggests that young Chinese marmots can get woodchuck hepatitis virus infection.