Grey marmots communicate acoustically with alarms calls that indicate to other members of the colony that danger is present. They also communicate nonverbally in times of danger by flagging to the others with their tails. Pointing their tail straight up in the air and then rapidly moving it up and down. Males also rubs his cheek at the entrance of a burrow leaving his scent for mating purposes.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
IUCN Red List considers grey marmots as Lower Risk or Least Concern on its list with an estimated population of 600,000 individuals in Mongolia alone (approximately 16% of the total population). There is a brief hunting season of about 2 months starting on August 11th and lasting through October 15th.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Tarbagan marmots have been known to carry the Bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis) and by living in close sympatry with Tarbagan marmots, grey marmots could be carriers of the plague, as well. They can carry with the disease if they are infected by common parasites such as ticks or fleas. Humans using grey marmots as a food source could get the disease if they consume infected meat.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (causes disease in humans , carries human disease); causes or carries domestic animal disease
Grey marmots aren't only consumed by birds of prey and wild animals, but is a part of the diets for humans living in the region. Farmers use grey marmots as a source of food and also use some body parts as a source of medicine. People in the region also hunt and trap grey marmots using their pelts for trade.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material; source of medicine or drug
Grey marmots are a keystone species in the ecosystem, serving as a food source for many different types of predators. Also the burrows dug out by them are used by other animals, such as rattle snakes, that use the burrows to hide in and ambush their prey. Grey marmots are also a host to many parasites like mites, ticks, tapeworms, and fleas.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds; creates habitat; soil aeration
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Grasses and herbaceous vegetation make up the majority of the diets of grey marmots. In the spring when new vegetation begins to sprout fringed sagebrush (Artemisia frigida) is a favorite for grey marmots. They are also known to sometimes eat other small animals, but it is not a large part of their diet.
Animal Foods: mammals; amphibians; reptiles
Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; wood, bark, or stems; flowers; bryophytes; lichens
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore ); omnivore
Grey marmots are found in the Palearctics. They inhabit the Altai Mountain range in western Siberia (Russia), western Mongolia, eastern Kazakhstan and northern China. Their geographic range also spans into the Tian Shan Mountain range of southeastern Kazakhstan, eastern Kyrgyzstan, and northwestern China.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )
Grey marmots living in temperate climates occupy many different habitats including tundra, taiga, grassland and mountains. Mountain habitats include both the Altai Mountain Range and the Tian Shan Mountain range. In these mountainous habitats grey marmots will be found near the top of ridges in cases where it is living in sympatry with another other species of marmots including Tarbagan marmots. A large lower elevation grassland habitat grey marmost inhabit is located on the east and west of Issyk Kul, a very large lake in Kyrgyzstan.
Range elevation: 0 to 4000 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; taiga ; savanna or grassland ; mountains
Little is known about the life span of grey marmots in the wild or in captivity. However other species of marmots can live on average 12 to 14 years in the wild, with reports of up to 18 years.
Grey Marmots are one of the largest marmots found in Asia. Their total length is 59.0 cm to 80.5 cm, with a short tail (13cm to 15cm) that accounts for less than a third of their head-body length. The a weight of an adult on average varies from 4.25 kg to 6.5 kg. They have a light greyish-brown fur covering their face all the way back to the ears where it fades into thick sandy colored base coat with nearly black tips of fur covering most of the pelt on their back. This gives their dorsal side a greyish appearance and is also how they got their common name, grey marmot. Their tails, as stated before, are relatively short compared to their body and are the same color as the base coat except for a dark brown-black tip. They are low to the ground with short thick legs and have small fur-covered ears.
Range mass: 4250 to 6500 g.
Range length: 590 to 805 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
The dark tips of fur on the ventral side of grey marmot coats give them some camouflage from above. This allows them to blend in with some of the natural colors of the ground helping with predator avoidance from large birds of prey such as eagles and hawks. Also alarm calls and nonverbal "flagging" with their tails is another way grey marmots avoid birds of prey, as well as terrestrial predators.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: aposematic ; cryptic
Although not much is known about the mating system of grey marmots, most marmot groups at similar latitudes were always thought be monogamous due to a lack of resources and food. A 2006 study determined that this was not true in another species of marmots that resides at a similar latitude. The study showed that smaller social groups of marmots proved to be monogamous while marmots in large social groups were promiscuous.
Mating among grey marmots only occurs once a year, for about a month, starting in the beginning of May and ending in the beginning of June. Only after they have reached a mature age (3 years) will they begin mating. Just half of mature females will end up mating each year. After a pair has mated the female undergoes a 40 day gestation period and a live birth of a litter, usually consisting of 2 to 6 pups.
Breeding interval: Grey marmots breed once a year.
Breeding season: Mating starts in the beginning of May and ends in the beginning of June.
Range number of offspring: 2 to 6.
Average gestation period: 40 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 3 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
After the female has given birth she will lactate for 30 days to feed her young, staying with them in the burrow for a majority of time. There is no documentation of direct paternal care by grey marmot males.
Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
The gray marmot, grey marmot, or Altai marmot (Marmota baibacina) is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is one of the larger marmots in the genus Marmota. It occurs in mountainous grasslands and shrub lands of central Asia, and is one of the 9 Palearctic (Eurasia) species. It is found in Xinjiang Province in China, southeastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and in the Altai and Tien Shan Mountains in southeastern Siberia in Russia.[2] In the Mongolian Altai, its range overlaps with that of the Tarbagan marmot.[3] Gray marmots form social groups, live in burrows, and hibernate.
Gray marmots are one of the largest palearctic species, weighing 4 to 6.5 kg (9 to 14.5 pounds), with some individuals reaching near 8 kg (18 pounds) before hibernation.[4] Body size varies based on the time of year (before/after hibernation), and with latitude and elevation.[5] Overall, body size increases at higher latitude and elevation and decreases at lower latitudes and elevation. Gray marmots may lose up to 30% of body mass during long seasonal hibernation.[5] They are short and stocky with brawny limbs and short tails. The total body length ranges from about 60 to 80 cm (25 to 30 inches) which includes the 13-to-15-centimetre-long (5 to 6 in) tail. Forefeet have 4 digits and strong claws for digging, while the hindfeet have 5 digits.[6][4] On the dorsal (back) side, the fur is beige to tan with brown to black hairs or hair tips blended throughout giving the coat a gray appearance. The ventral (belly) side is a more orange-reddish brown. The length of the tail is much like the body but has a dark brown to black tip. The ears are small and round and light colored. The face is darker brown at the cheeks with lighter yellowish brown around the mouth.[4][6] Albinism occurs in this species.[5] Gray marmots are not known to exhibit sexual dimorphism (differences between males and females), but in most marmot species the adult males are larger than adult females.[4][7][8] Gray marmots also have cheek glands and anal glands.[5][8]
Gray marmots live in mountain meadows and steppes, where they forage on sage bush in the spring, grasses and flowering plants in summer and fall.[6][5][9][10] They occur in elevations from 150 to 4,000 m (490 to 13,120 feet), but may prefer mild to moderate well draining slopes with suitable soil for burrowing. The soil ranges from fine grained soft soil to soil including sand or pebbles.[4][8][9][11] Their distribution extends from the Altai mountains of southwestern Siberia (Tuva, Russia), western Mongolia, northwestern China (Xinjiang), and eastern Kazakhstan, into the Tien Shan mountains of northwestern China, Kyrgyzstan, and southeastern Kazakhstan. In southeastern Kazakhstan and southwestern Siberia the range enters lower elevation, dry steppes.[2][4][6][9] The gray marmot is an introduced species in the Caucasus mountains of Dagestan, Russia.[4] In the Altai mountains of western Mongolia, the range overlaps with the Tarbagan marmot (Marmota sibirica). In this area of range overlap, competition restricts the gray marmot habitat to elevations above 3,000 m (9,800 feet) in areas with scattered boulders and rocks. Observation of hybridization between the two species and living in the same area are rare.[3][11]
Gray marmots live in social groups called extended families with multiple individuals living in a burrow and several burrows forming a colony.[4] The extended families usually consist of a pair of dominant adults and a few subordinate adults, yearling and babies.[5] Gray marmots also have species specific alarm calls, which can be used to distinguish them from other species.[3][11] When environmental conditions are harsh extended families are limited. When conditions are moderate to good the extended families become more complex.[5]
Gray marmots live in harsh environments with snowfall limiting food for a significant amount of time.[5][10] They have evolved a yearly pattern of hibernation, reproduction, growth and then fattening for the next hibernation.[10] Gray marmots hibernate for 7–8 months starting in fall and emerging in May.[4][5][6] Hibernation starts between August and October depending on the location of the population, and populations at lower altitude or on south facing slopes emerge sooner.[5][6][10]
Gray marmots dig extensive winter burrows for hibernation, reaching depths of 5–7 m (15–25 feet) with some tunnels up to 63 m (205 feet) long.[8][10] Winter burrows hold 10 or more individuals which helps them stay warm with less energy use. Summer burrows are less deep and hold only a few individuals.[6]
Gray marmots mate in early May, and often mate in burrows before they emerge from hibernation.[5] Mating may be monogamous or polyandrous. Gestation last 40 days and the female gives birth to 2–6 babies.[4][5][6] Females reach reproductive maturity at 2–3 years.[5] Females alternate years of reproduction, and reabsorb embryos in harsh environmental conditions.[4][5]
Predators of gray marmots include wolves, foxes, dogs, polecats, Pallas's cat, and predator birds such as hawks and falcons.[4][6] Gray marmots use alarm calls to warn family members of predator presence.[5]
Gray marmots have anal and cheek glands used for communication of dominance and possibly defense.[5][8] They use tail movements as visual cues, and various vocalizations such a growls, high pitched cries, whining and alarm calls.[5][8][11]
The gray marmot is a palearctic species in the subgenus Marmota. It is most related to the forest-steppe marmot (Marmota kastschenkoi), which was considered a subspecies of the gray marmot until recently recognized a distinct species.[4][5][9] The bobak marmot (Marmota bobak) is a sister group to these species and the lineage the gray marmot is thought to evolve from.[5] The gray marmot has two recognized subspecies Marmota baibacina baibacina and Marmota baibacina centralis.[4]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) The gray marmot, grey marmot, or Altai marmot (Marmota baibacina) is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is one of the larger marmots in the genus Marmota. It occurs in mountainous grasslands and shrub lands of central Asia, and is one of the 9 Palearctic (Eurasia) species. It is found in Xinjiang Province in China, southeastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and in the Altai and Tien Shan Mountains in southeastern Siberia in Russia. In the Mongolian Altai, its range overlaps with that of the Tarbagan marmot. Gray marmots form social groups, live in burrows, and hibernate.
