| antimicrobial resistance and production of toxins in escherichia coli strains from wild ruminants and the alpine marmot. | escherichia coli strains isolated from 81 fecal samples from red deer (cervus elaphus), roe deer (capreoulus capreoulus), chamois (rupicapra rupicapra) and alpine marmot (marmota marmota) living in the stelvio national park, italy, were examined for antimicrobial resistance and production of toxic factors. direct plating of specimens on media containing antimicrobial drugs allowed us to isolate resistant strains of e. coli from 10 of 59 (17%) specimens examined by this technique. nine of 31 spec ... | 1991 | 2067054 |
| faecal bacteria of wild ruminants and the alpine marmot. | faecal samples from 60 red deer (cervus elaphus), 13 roe deer (capreolus capreolus), 7 chamois (rupicapra rupicapra), 41 alpine marmot (marmota marmota) and soils mixed with deer faeces from the stelvio national park were examined for campylobacter sp. and salmonella sp. with negative results. the same material, especially deer faeces, was a habitat highly suitable for yersinia sp.: y. enterocolitica (two biotypes) was isolated twice, y. kristensenii (two serotypes) was isolated 19 times, y. fre ... | 1985 | 3898557 |
| the effect of herbivore faeces on the edaphic mite community: implications for tapeworm transmission. | oribatid mites may be of epidemiological and medical importance because several species have been shown to serve as intermediate hosts for anoplocephalid tapeworms of wild and domestic animals. despite their economic and conservation significance, relatively few studies examined factors influencing the effective number of oribatid mites that can serve as intermediate hosts. we examined variation in the structure of the edaphic arthropod community in functionally different territory parts of the ... | 2014 | 24114339 |
| survey of keratinophilic fungi in alpine marmot (marmota marmota) burrow soil and in adjoining soils. | soil samples from 127 marmot (marmota marmota) burrows were examined for keratinophilic fungi along with 48 soil samples from adjoining areas. the occurrence of keratinophilic fungi (especially microsporum gypseum) was significantly higher in burrow soil. a review of the literature and our results support the hypothesis that the "animalization" (i.e. the enrichment of soil with hairs, crusts and other organic matters) of the environment may create conditions suitable for the growth of keratinoph ... | 1978 | 635727 |
| epidemiology of sylvatic trichinellosis in north-western italy. | muscle samples from 7,142 wild boars (sus scrofa), 80 free-ranging hogs, 1,462 red foxes (vulpes vulpes) 90 mustelids, 15 alpine marmots (marmota marmota), 873 rodents and 92 insectivores were examined for trichinella railliet, 1895. a wild boar, a badger (meles meles) and 30 foxes (2.1%) were found to be infected. eleven vulpine isolates and the wild boar isolate were identified as trichinella britovi. these results show that the wild boar has little significance as a reservoir of t. britovi in ... | 1992 | 1305850 |
| microsatellite analysis of genetic variation among and within alpine marmot populations in the french alps. | the genetic structure of the alpine marmot, marmota marmota, was studied by an analysis of five polymorphic microsatellite loci. eight locations were sampled in the french alps, one from les ecrins valley (n = 160), another from la sassière valley (n = 289) and the six others from the maurienne valley (n = 139). information on social group structure was available for both les ecrins and la sassière but not for the other samples. the high levels of genetic diversity observed are at odds with the ... | 2001 | 11251786 |
| evaluation of three combinations of anesthetics for use in free-ranging alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | from april 1998 to september 2000, 241 free-ranging alpine marmots (marmota marmota) were anesthetized in the course of a field project using either xylazine plus ketamine (xk), medetomidine plus ketamine (mk), or xylazine plus a 1:1 mixture of zolazepam and tiletamine (xzt). for each of the combinations, the respective doses for short term and long-term surgery were established and seasonal variations in the amount of drugs needed were assessed. no fatalities occurred, and doses for efficient a ... | 2003 | 14567229 |
| hormonal and behavioural changes during the mating season and pregnancy in alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | under natural and artificial conditions, alpine marmots (marmota marmota) are true hibernators with a single breeding season starting immediately upon emergence from hibernation. over three mating and breeding seasons, hormonal and mating patterns of colony-housed reproductive female marmots were investigated after exit from hibernation. blood samples were taken for progesterone, oestrogen and relaxin assays with parallel ultrasound investigations. copulations were observed from the first day af ... | 2003 | 14748696 |
| seasonal changes in serum metabolites in free-ranging alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | circannual changes in serum parameters and body mass were studied in free-ranging marmota marmota that had been shot in switzerland (grisons) for management reasons in may, july, and september of 1995, 1996, and 1997; and in april 1996. markers of lipid (triglycerides, cholesterol), protein (total protein, urea-nitrogen) and mineral (calcium, inorganic phosphate) metabolism were evaluated in 111 haemolysis-free serum samples; the effects of sex, age, reproductive status, season and year were tes ... | 2004 | 15042398 |
| are extra-pair young better than within-pair young? a comparison of survival and dominance in alpine marmot. | 1. in socially monogamous species, females may seek extra-pair copulation to gain genetic benefits. in order to test this 'genetic quality' hypothesis, one must compare the performance of extra-pair young (epy) and within-pair young (wpy). such tests, however, are scarce and results published so far are inconclusive. 2. here, we test the 'genetic quality' hypothesis using multistate capture-recapture models to compare age-specific survival and access to dominance between epy and wpy in the alpin ... | 2007 | 17584383 |
| age-specific effect of heterozygosity on survival in alpine marmots, marmota marmota. | the fitness consequences of heterozygosity and the mechanisms underpinning them are still highly controversial. using capture-mark-recapture models, we investigated the effects of individual heterozygosity, measured at 16 microsatellite markers, on age-dependent survival and access to dominance in a socially monogamous mammalian species, the alpine marmot. we found a positive correlation between standardized multilocus heterozygosity and juvenile survival. however, there was no correlation betwe ... | 2009 | 19298267 |
| keep cool: memory is retained during hibernation in alpine marmots. | hibernators display severe changes in brain structure during deep torpor, including alterations in synaptic constitution. to address a possible effect on long-term memory, we examined learning behavior and memory of the hibernator marmota marmota. in two operant conditioning tasks, the marmots learned to jump on two boxes or to walk through a tube. the animals were trained during their active season. performance improved during the training phase and remained stable in a last test, four weeks be ... | 2009 | 19393672 |
| transabdominal ultrasonography as a monitoring tool for pregnancy in alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | in the wild, alpine marmots (marmota marmota) spend most of their time in underground burrows. thus the observation of reproduction biology during mating season, gestation, and the early juvenile development is extremely challenging. an ultrasonographic follow-up of pregnancies in captive alpine marmots illustrates the characteristic findings of different gestational phases. the first ultrasonographic proof for a pregnancy was detected on day -25 (day 0 defined as partus). at day -18, first hear ... | 2009 | 20063829 |
| thermoregulation as a limit to habitat use in alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | the body temperature (t b) of free-living alpine marmots rose with activity; the higher the effective environmental temperature (t e), the higher the rise. maximum t bof 40° c was reached at the time of greatest activity in late afternoon or evening. the activity pattern was strongly influenced by the microclimate. up to an t eof 25° c the animals spent more time above ground and were more active the higher t ewas, but above 25° c this trend was reversed, and the animals withdrew increasingly in ... | 1988 | 28312405 |
| interplay between plasma oxidative status, cortisol and coping styles in wild alpine marmots, marmota marmota. | variation in how individuals cope behaviourally and physiologically with stressors is widespread and can have a significant impact on life-history traits and fitness. individual coping styles are characterised by differential behavioural and adrenocortical reactivity to various challenges. as stress hormones can affect the production of reactive chemical species and the antioxidant status, individuals with different coping styles may differ also in oxidative status. field studies on wild mammali ... | 2012 | 22189781 |
| contrasting patterns of selection acting on mhc class i and class ii drb genes in the alpine marmot (marmota marmota). | the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) genes code for proteins that play a critical role in the immune system response. the mhc genes are among the most polymorphic genes in vertebrates, presumably due to balancing selection. the two mhc classes appear to differ in the rate of evolution, but the reasons for this variation are not well understood. here, we investigate the level of polymorphism and the evolution of sequences that code for the peptide-binding regions of mhc class i and class ii ... | 2012 | 22594882 |
| the chromosomes of the alpine marmot marmota marmota l. (rodentia: sciuridae). | | 1969 | 5399225 |
| sex-specific senescence in body mass of a monogamous and monomorphic mammal: the case of alpine marmots. | sex-specific senescence has been commonly reported in highly dimorphic and polygynous species. however, whether between-sex differences in senescence occur in monogamous and monomorphic species is poorly known. in this study, we used an extensive dataset of 20 years of mass measurements on free-ranging male and female alpine marmots (marmota marmota), a medium-sized, long-lived, social and hibernating mammal, to assess sex-specific patterns of senescence in body mass. we tested for the occurrenc ... | 2013 | 23224789 |
| large-scale genotyping of highly polymorphic loci by next-generation sequencing: how to overcome the challenges to reliably genotype individuals? | studying the different roles of adaptive genes is still a challenge in evolutionary ecology and requires reliable genotyping of large numbers of individuals. next-generation sequencing (ngs) techniques enable such large-scale sequencing, but stringent data processing is required. here, we develop an easy to use methodology to process amplicon-based ngs data and we apply this methodology to reliably genotype four major histocompatibility complex (mhc) loci belonging to mhc class i and ii of alpin ... | 2015 | 25757407 |
| litter sex composition influences dominance status of alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | in social species, the hierarchical status of an individual has important consequences for its fitness. while many studies have focused on individual condition to explain access to dominance, very few have investigated the influence of the social environment, especially during early life. yet it is known that environmental conditions early in life may influence several traits at adulthood. here, we examine the influence of early social environment on accession to dominance by investigating the i ... | 2015 | 26169393 |
| early and adult social environments have independent effects on individual fitness in a social vertebrate. | evidence that the social environment at critical stages of life-history shapes individual trajectories is accumulating. previous studies have identified either current or delayed effects of social environments on fitness components, but no study has yet analysed fitness consequences of social environments at different life stages simultaneously. to fill the gap, we use an extensive dataset collected during a 24-year intensive monitoring of a population of alpine marmots (marmota marmota), a long ... | 2015 | 26246552 |
| socially mediated effects of climate change decrease survival of hibernating alpine marmots. | in the context of global change, an increasing challenge is to understand the interaction between weather variables and life histories. species-specific life histories should condition the way climate influences population dynamics, particularly those that are associated with environmental constraints, such as lifestyles like hibernation and sociality. however, the influence of lifestyle in the response of organisms to climate change remains poorly understood. based on a 23-year longitudinal stu ... | 2016 | 26920650 |
| differential plasticity of size and mass to environmental change in a hibernating mammal. | morphological changes following changes in species' distribution and phenology have been suggested to be the third universal response to global environmental change. although structural size and body mass result from different genetic, physiological, and ecological mechanisms, they are used interchangeably in studies evaluating population responses to environmental change. using a 22-year (1991-2013) dataset including 1768 individuals, we investigated the coupled dynamics of size and mass in a h ... | 2016 | 26994312 |
| sex-specific determinants of fitness in a social mammal. | sociality should evolve when the fitness benefits of group living outweigh the costs. theoretical models predict an optimal group size maximizing individual fitness. however, beyond the number of individuals present in a group, the characteristics of these individuals, like their sex, are likely to affect the fitness payoffs of group living. using 20 years of individually based data on a social mammal, the alpine marmot (marmota marmota), we tested for the occurrence of an optimal group size and ... | 2015 | 27070014 |
| mate choice for neutral and mhc genetic characteristics in alpine marmots: different targets in different contexts? | sexual selection through female mate choice for genetic characteristics has been suggested to be an important evolutionary force maintaining genetic variation in animal populations. however, the genetic targets of female mate choice are not clearly identified and whether female mate choice is based on neutral genetic characteristics or on particular functional loci remains an open question. here, we investigated the genetic targets of female mate choice in alpine marmots (marmota marmota), a soc ... | 2016 | 27386072 |
| faithful or not: direct and indirect effects of climate on extra-pair paternities in a population of alpine marmots. | despite being identified an area that is poorly understood regarding the effects of climate change, behavioural responses to climatic variability are seldom explored. climatic variability is likely to cause large inter-annual variation in the frequency of extra-pair litters produced, a widespread alternative mating tactic to help prevent, correct or minimize the negative consequences of sub-optimal mate choice. in this study, we investigated how climatic variability affects the inter-annual vari ... | 2016 | 28003452 |
| decreasing litter size of marmots over time: a life history response to climate change? | the way that plants and animals respond to climate change varies widely among species, but the biological features underlying their actual response remains largely unknown. here, from a 20-year monitoring study, we document a continuous decrease in litter size of the alpine marmot (marmota marmota) since 1990. to cope with harsh winters, alpine marmots hibernate in burrows and their reproductive output should depend more on spring conditions compared to animals that are active year-round. howeve ... | 2013 | 23687884 |
| higher risk of gastrointestinal parasite infection at lower elevation suggests possible constraints in the distributional niche of alpine marmots. | alpine marmots marmota marmota occupy a narrow altitudinal niche within high elevation alpine environments. for animals living at such high elevations where resources are limited, parasitism represents a potential major cost in life history. using occupancy models, we tested if marmots living at higher elevation have a reduced risk of being infected with gastro-intestinal helminths, possibly compensating the lower availability of resources (shorter feeding season, longer snow cover and lower tem ... | 2017 | 28763517 |
| seasonal 4-year investigation into the role of the alpine marmot (marmota marmota) as a carrier of zoophilic dermatophytes. | two hundred and six samples of alpine marmot (mamota marmota) hair (148 from adults and 58 from young subjects), 102 soil samples from the entrances to the burrows of the above individuals and 20 control specimens (obtained from adjoining areas away from the burrow systems where the rodents are not usually present) were examined from may 1994 to september 1997. seventy-five isolates belonging to six species of dermatophytes were found in 69 of the 206 hair samples examined (33.5%). two species w ... | 2005 | 16110784 |
| [spontaneous and experimental infection of alpine marmots (marmota marmota) by the north american woodchuck hepatitis virus (marmota monax). initial results]. | summer's discovery in 1978 of a dna virus, very close to human hepatitis b virus in a woodchuck population in the u.s.a. (pennsylvania) was a confirmation of the first description made by snyder at penrose research laboratory (philadelphia). it was the first animal model of human b hepatitis infection. the comparative study of morphological, ecological and ethological characteristics of the marmot (marmota marmota) and the woodchuck (marmota monax) enables an easy distinction between these two s ... | 1984 | 6532649 |
| the primary structure of the hemoglobin of the european marmot (marmota marmota marmota, rodentia). | the hemoglobin of the european marmot marmota marmota marmota has been found to consist of only one component. in this work, we are presenting its primary structure. the globin chains have been separated by high performance liquid chromatography and the sequences have been determined by automated edman degradation of the chains and their tryptic peptides, as well as of the peptide obtained by acid hydrolysis of the asp-pro bond in the beta-chains. in the alpha-chains we have found 13 and in the ... | 1986 | 3707713 |
| seasonal changes in morphology and function of the gastrointestinal tract of free-living alpine marmots ( marmota marmota). | the gastrointestinal tracts of 76 free-living alpine marmots ( marmota marmota) shot during a population control program in switzerland were collected and analysed for patterns of change in morphology and function over the period from emergence from hibernation in april to just before re-entry into hibernation in september. between first emergence and mid-summer (july) the fresh tissue mass of the stomach increased by 105%, the small intestine by 259% (among the largest recorded for a mammal), c ... | 2002 | 11919701 |
| regulation of body temperature and energy requirements of hibernating alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | body temperature and metabolic rate were recorded continuously in two groups of marmots either exposed to seasonally decreasing ambient temperature (15 to 0 degrees c) over the entire hibernation season or to short-duration temperature changes during midwinter. hibernation bouts were characterized by an initial 95% reduction of metabolic rate facilitating the drop in body temperature and by rhythmic fluctuations during continued hibernation. during midwinter, we observed a constant minimal metab ... | 2000 | 10712291 |
| regional variation of white adipocyte lipolysis during the annual cycle of the alpine marmot. | during winter, hibernating animals rely on their lipid stores for survival. in vitro lipolytic activity of isolated adipocytes from gonadal and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (wat) was studied in captive alpine marmots (marmota marmota) at two different times of their yearly cycle. during the summer, when marmots were eating, adipocyte responsiveness and sensitivity to isoprenaline and noradrenaline were higher in gonadal than in subcutaneous wat. during hibernation, when marmots were spontan ... | 1999 | 10530894 |
| white adipose tissue fatty acids of alpine marmots during their yearly cycle. | alpine marmots (marmota marmota) were maintained on a laboratory diet, and the fatty acid composition of gonadal and subcutaneous white adipose tissues (wat) was studied during a yearly cycle. fatty acids (fa) released from isolated adipocytes were also identified after stimulation of in vitro lipolysis. analysis of the fa composition of wat depots showed that marmot wat mainly contained monounsaturated fa (65%, mostly oleic acid, 18:1n-9) although laboratory food contained 45% of linoleic acid ... | 1999 | 10230722 |
| postweaning mass gain in juvenile alpine marmots marmota marmota. | the effects of several environmental factors on the postweaning growth of wild alpine marmots were investigated. factors considered were year of birth, sun exposure in the home range, litter size, and sex of young. components of growth were juvenile mass at emergence from the natal burrow (as a result of preweaning growth) and postweaning growth rate. we also considered the length of the active season during which growth occurs. mass at emergence and postweaning growth rate varied according to y ... | 1998 | 28307821 |
| [immigration of a pregnant female in an alpine marmot family group: behavioural and genetic data]. | the acceptance of a pregnant female by the dominant male of a family group of alpine marmots (marmota marmota) (population of la grande sassière, parc national de la vanoise, french alps) was revealed by the combined results from microsatellite polymorphism analysis and behavioural studies. these first results seem to indicate that the mating system of the alpine marmot is more complex than previously thought, that polygyny cannot be excluded, and that adult females can join neighbouring groups. ... | 1996 | 8761669 |
| low genetic variability in a natural alpine marmot population (marmota marmota, sciuridae) revealed by dna fingerprinting. | genetic heterogeneity is usually considered an important factor for the viability of a population, yet there are cases in which populations sustain themselves despite virtual homozygosity. a prior step to studying the effects of such low levels of genetic variability can be the analysis of its causes. we analysed a population of the highly social alpine marmot (marmota marmota, sciuridae) by multilocus dna fingerprinting. the fingerprint patterns revealed a very low degree of polymorphism in our ... | 1994 | 7921359 |
| social thermoregulation during hibernation in alpine marmots (marmota marmota). | body temperature (tb) of socially hibernating alpine marmots, a pair and two family groups, was monitored continuously from october to march with implanted temperature-sensitive radiotransmitters. at the same time, the animals' behaviour was observed. the recurrent entrances into and arousals from hibernation were highly synchronised within groups. group members always lay huddled together when euthermic and also when torpid with a few exceptions at higher ambient temperatures (ta). body contact ... | 1988 | 3170823 |
| [identification of the alpine marmot (marmota marmota l.)]. | | 1970 | 5516825 |
| how do animals optimize the size-number trade-off when aging? insights from reproductive senescence patterns in marmots. | we investigated the influence of female age on five reproductive traits and on the offspring size-number trade-off from an extensive data set spanning 20 years of study on free-ranging alpine marmots. offspring mass increased with female age, whereas litter size and reproductive allocation remained constant in females up to 10 years of age and declined thereafter. although reproductive allocation declined, post-weaning juvenile survival and the size-number trade-off did not change markedly throu ... | 2015 | 26236889 |
| the effect of anthelmintic treatment on coccidia oocyst shedding in a wild mammal host with intermittent cestode infection. | while hosts are routinely exploited by a community of parasite species, the principles governing host responses towards parasites are unclear. identifying the health outcomes of coinfections involving helminth macroparasites and microparasites is one area of importance for public and domestic animal health. for instance, it is controversial how deworming programmes affect incidence and severity of such important microparasite diseases as malaria. one problem is that most study systems involve do ... | 2014 | 25506065 |
| paternity and dominance loss in male breeders: the cost of helpers in a cooperatively breeding mammal. | paternity insurance and dominance tenure length are two important components of male reproductive success, particularly in species where reproduction is highly skewed towards a few individuals. identifying the factors affecting these two components is crucial to better understand the pattern of variation in reproductive success among males. in social species, the social context (i.e. group size and composition) is likely to influence the ability of males to secure dominance and to monopolize rep ... | 2012 | 22272236 |
| diet-independent remodeling of cellular membranes precedes seasonally changing body temperature in a hibernator. | polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufa) have a multitude of health effects. their incorporation into membrane phospholipids (pl) is generally believed to depend directly on dietary influx. pl influence transmembrane protein activity and thus can compensate temperature effects; e.g. pl n-6 pufa are thought to stabilize heart function at low body temperature (t(b)), whereas long chain (>c18) n-3 pufa may boost oxidative capacity. we found substantial remodeling of membranes in free-living alpine marmot ... | 2011 | 21533242 |
| effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids on hibernation and torpor: a review and hypothesis. | polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufas) can have strong effects on hibernation and daily torpor in mammals. high dietary pufa contents were found to increase proneness for torpor, decrease body temperatures, prolong torpor bout duration, and attenuate hibernation mass loss. the mechanism by which pufas enhance torpor and hibernation is unknown, however. on the basis of a review of the literature, and on reexamining our own data on alpine marmots, we propose that effects on hibernation are not due to ... | 2008 | 18171691 |
| plucked hair samples as a source of dna: reliability of dinucleotide microsatellite genotyping. | to test whether plucked hairs are a reliable source of dna for genotyping microsatellite loci, we carried out experiments using one, three, or 10 hairs per extract for 50 alpine marmots. for each extract, seven independent genotypings were performed for the same locus (multiple-tubes approach). two types of genotyping errors were recorded: a false homozygote defined as the detection of only one allele of a true heterozygote, and a false allele defined as a pcr-generated allele that was not one o ... | 1998 | 9766929 |
| identification of odorant receptors from the alpine marmot (marmota marmota). | alpine marmots (marmota marmota) are a good model to study intraspecific chemical communication among mammals. this species has been subjected to several behavioural and biochemical studies regarding both their scent-marking behaviour by cheek-rubbing, and the chemical composition of their glandular secretions. however, no molecular study has been undertaken until today on proteins from the olfactory epithelium possibly implicated in chemical perception. in this study, we identified, to our know ... | 2000 | 11075954 |