Global warming has led to warmer temperatures in the Colorado Rockies—the place where many yellow-bellied marmots call home. A mere temperature increase shouldn’t affect the marmots too greatly, right? Wrong. The Colorado winters have been ending sooner, and it has impacted the hibernation schedule of the animals.
Now the marmots wake from hibernation as much as a month earlier than they did in 1976. Average weight of marmots has increased since the change to their hibernation schedule. This happens because with less time spent in hibernation, the animals spend more time eating and growing. Now, female marmots weight about a pound more than they did in 1976. You may be wondering how weight affects their lives? As a result of the weight gain, more marmots have the chance to survive hibernation. From 2000 to 2010 the marmot population has tripled because of the increased number surviving hibernation. Right now, the heat is helping the marmot population increase. However, it is important to consider the future. Will the continued heat increase negatively impact the marmots? Could there possibly be droughts that harm the marmots?
Not only is this telling for the future of the marmot population, but it also hints at the fact that our animal population could vastly change as a result of global warming. One animal that has been paid a lot of attention to because of global warming is the polar bear. In a few years, will the polar bear have a sustainable environment? Will they cease to exist?
Additionally, this article made me wonder about the future of crops and farming. Are we going to have to change our farming methods to comply with warmer temperatures? Are we going to continue planting the same crops, or do we need to genetically mutate some plants to survive the heat? Global warming definitely stands to significantly change our world if we do not do our part to slow its effects.
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