Scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that stressful situations at a young age negatively affect the survival and lifespan of groundhogs. Research results It was published In Ecology Letters.
Scientists calculated a cumulative adversity index for yellow-bellied marmots based on 62 years of continuous data collection at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado. The researchers sought to determine which stressful situations could have a negative impact on the animals’ lifespan.
The results revealed some predictable and unexpected factors. For example, a late start to active growth reduced survival because the groundhogs didn’t gain enough weight for their seven-month hibernation during the summer. Summer drought, by contrast, had no effect on life expectancy, which surprised the scientists. Predation also played a smaller role than expected.
The most important traumatic event for animals was the early loss of their mothers. This factor significantly reduced the life expectancy of animals even after the end of the lactation period. The fact is that young marmots live with their mothers for a year after weaning.
The average lifespan of an adult groundhog is 3.8 years, but a high cumulative index of adverse conditions triples the risk of extinction, the scientists noted. But later positive experiences could not compensate for early adversities and did not help the animals live longer.
Earlier scientists I learnedIntelligent tits live longer and leave more offspring.
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Source: Gazeta
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