Triangulating from the cairns…
Animal populations facing new environmental pressures can respond by moving to a new area, being able to plastically respond to the newly changed environment, or by having sufficient genetic variation to evolve a new response. A commonly used strategy is behavioral flexibility, such as seen when animals change their activity patterns in response to changes in temperature. Yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) are a particularly good system for studying these behavioral responses to temperature because they are easily heat-stressed. Previous studies of the response to temperature have been based on direct observations, but with the development of biologgers, we can follow marmots’ movements throughout the whole day using accelerometers. This offers insight into the activity patterns of the marmots, even when we are unable to observe them. I hypothesize that with an increase in temperature during the afternoon, marmots will be less active. Instead, they will be more active during the cooler hours of the day, such as in the mornings and evenings.
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