fbpx

About the Marmot

Meet the Vancouver Island Marmot
The only endemic mammal species to British Columbia, the marmot lives in the mountains of Vancouver Island. Learn more about this special animal, its habitat, and challenges it faces.

Research

Collected here is a bibliography of known research into the Vancouver Island Marmot, compiled by Dr. Gillis. It may not be comprehensive, and our apologies if your research paper or thesis has been missed.

Recovery Plans and Planning Documents

Provincial Recovery Plans

Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team. 2017. Recovery plan for the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment (Victoria, BC). 41 pp.

Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team. 2008. Recovery strategy for the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) in British Columbia. Prepared for the B.C. Ministry of Environment (Victoria, BC). 25 pp.

National Recovery Plans

Janz, D.W., A.A. Bryant, N.K. Dawe, H. Schwantje, B. Harper, D. Nagorsen, D. Doyle, M. deLaronde, D. Fraser, D. Lindsay, S. Leigh-Spencer, R. McLaughlin, and R. Simmons. 2000. National recovery plan for the Vancouver Island Marmot (2000 Update). Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife, Ottawa, ON.

Janz, D., C. Blumensaat, N.K. Dawe, B. Harper, S. Leigh-Spencer, W.T. Munro, and D. Nagorsen. 1994. National recovery plan for the Vancouver Island Marmot. Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife Comm., Ottawa, ON. Rep. No. 10.

Munro, W.T., D.W. Janz, V. Heinsalu, and G.W. Smith. 1985. The Vancouver Island Marmot: status and management plan. B.C. Ministry of Environment Wildlife Bulletin B-39, Victoria, B.C. iii + 24 pp.

Other Planning Reports

Jackson, C., A. Baker, D. Doyle, M. Franke, V. Jackson, N. Lloyd, M. McAdie, T. Stephens, and K. Traylor-Holzer. 2015. Vancouver Island Marmot population and habitat viability assessment workshop final report. IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, MN.

 

Status Reports and Assessments

COSEWIC. 2008. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Vancouver Island Marmot Marmota vancouverensis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 29 pp.

COSEWIC. 2000. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Vancouver Island Marmot Marmota vancouverensis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 29 pp.

Bryant, A.A. 1997. Update COSEWIC status report on the Vancouver Island Marmot Marmota vancouverensis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-25 pp.

Munro, W.T. 1978. COSEWIC status report on the Vancouver Island Marmot Marmota vancouverensis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-12 pp.

 

Theses

Acker, M.J. 2018. Cortisol and conservation: understanding barriers to the recovery of a critically endangered species using stress physiology. MSc thesis, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. 109 pp.

Bryant, A.A. 1990. Genetic variability and minimum viable populations in the Vancouver Island Marmot, Marmota vancouverensis. MSc thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 101 pp.

Bryant, A.A.  1998.  Metapopulation dynamics of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis).  PhD dissertation, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  126 pp.

Casimir, D.L. 2005. Reproductive behaviour of Vancouver Island Marmots, Marmota vancouverensis: conclusions from a conservation breeding program. MSc thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 124 pp.

Heard, D.C.  1977.  The behavior of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis).  M.Sc. Thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 129 pp.

Jackson, C. 2012. First year site fidelity and survival in reintroduced captive-bred Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). MSc thesis. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 72 pp.

Keeley, T. 2004. Reproductive Behavior and Endocrinology of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota Vancouverensis). M.Sc. thesis,

Milko, R.J. 1984. Vegetation and foraging ecology of the Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). M.Sc. thesis. University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. 127 pp.

Nankoo, J.D. 2009. Early Maternal Behaviour in Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). M.A. thesis, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 100 pp.

Werner, J.R. 2005. The endangered Vancouver Island Marmot: Allee effects and reintroduction success. MSc thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 90 pp.

 

Papers

Aaltonen, K., A.A. Bryant, J.A. Hostetler, and M.K. Oli. 2009. Reintroducing endangered Vancouver Island Marmots: survival and cause-specific mortality rates of captive-born versus wild-born individuals. Biological Conservation 142:2181–2190.

Acker, M., G. Mastromonaco, and A. Schulte-Hostedde. 2018. The effects of body region, season and external arsenic application on hair cortisol concentration. Conservation Physiology 6: coy037.

Armitage, K.B. 2009. Fur color diversity in marmots. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 21:183–194.

Arnold, W. 1990. The evolution of marmot sociality: II. Costs and benefits of joint hibernation. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 27:239–246.

Blumstein, D.T. 1999. Alarm calling in three species of marmots. Behaviour 136:731-757.

Blumstein, DT. 2007. The evolution, function, and meaning of marmot alarm communication. Advances in the Study of Behavior 37: 371–401.

Blumstein, D. T., J.C. Daniel, and A.A. Bryant. 2001. Anti-predator behavior of Vancouver Island marmots: using congeners to evaluate abilities of a critically endangered mammal. Ethology. 107:1-14.

Blumstein, D.T., B.D. Holland, and J.C. Daniel. 2006. Predator discrimination and ‘personality’ in captive Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Animal Conservation 9: 274-282.

Brandler, O. V., and E. A. Lyapunova. 2009. Molecular phylogenies of the genus Marmota (Rodentia Sciuridae): comparative analysis. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 21:289.

Bryant, A.A. 1996. Reproduction and persistence of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis) in natural and logged habitats. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74:678-687.

Bryant, A.A. 2005. Reproductive rates of wild and captive Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Canadian Journal of Zoology 83:664-673.

Bryant, A.A., and D.W. Janz.  1996.  Distribution and abundance of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis).  Canadian Journal of Zoology.  74: 667-677.

Bryant, A.A., and R.E. Page. 2005. Timing and causes of mortality in the Endangered Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Canadian Journal of Zoology 83:674-682.

Brashares, J.S., J.R. Werner, and A.R.E. Sinclair. 2010. Social “meltdown” in the demise of an island endemic: Allee effects and the Vancouver Island Marmot. Journal of Animal Ecology 79:965-973.

Cardini, A. 2004. Evolution of marmots (Rodentia, Sciuridae): combining information on labial and lingual sides of the mandible.” Acta Theiologica 49: 301–18.

Cardini, A., R.W. Thorington, and P.D. Polly. 2007. Evolutionary acceleration in the most endangered mammal of Canada: speciation and divergence in the Vancouver Island Marmot (Rodentia, Sciuridae). J. Evol. Biol. 20:1833–1846.

Cardini, A., R.S. Hoffmann, and R.W. Thorington. 2005. Morphological evolution in marmots (Rodentia, Sciuridae): size and shape of the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the cranium. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 43:258-68.

Cardini, A., D. Nagorsen, P. O’Higgins, P.D. Polly, R.W. Thorington, and P. Tongiorgi. 2009. Detecting biological distinctiveness using geometric morphometrics: an example case from the Vancouver Island Marmot. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 21:209-223.

Casimir, D.L., A. Moehrenschlager, and R.M. Barclay. 2007. Factors influencing reproduction in captive Vancouver Island Marmots: implications for captive breeding and reintroduction programs. J. Mammal. 88:1412–1419.

Dadone, L.I., D.P. Whiteside, S.R. Black, A. Remedios, and S. Raverty. 2011. Nasal osteosarcoma and interstitial cell tumor in a Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 42: 330–334.

Davis, E.B. 2005. Comparison of climate space and phylogeny of Marmota (Mammalia: Rodentia) indicates a connection between evolutionary history and climate preference. Proc. Biol. Sci. 272:519–526.

Dearden, P. and C. Hall. 1983. Non-consumptive recreation pressures and the case of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Environmental Conservation 10:63-66.

Dearden, P. 1986. Status of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis): an update. Environmental Conservation 13: 168–168.

Graham, L.H., T. Keeley, C. Howell, and K.L. Goodrowe. 2003. Reproductive endocrinology of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Biology of Reproduction 68:126–126.

Jackson, C.L., R. Schuster, and P. Arcese. 2016. Release date influences first-year site fidelity and survival in captive-bred Vancouver Island Marmots. Ecosphere 7 (5):e01314. 10.1002/esc2.1314

Keeley, T., K.L. Goodrowe, L. Graham, C. Howell, and S.E. MacDonald. 2012. The reproductive endocrinology and behavior of Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Zoo Biology 31:275-290.

Kerhoulas, N.J., A.M. Gunderson, and L.E. Olson. 2015. Complex history of isolation and gene flow in Hoary, Olympic, and Endangered Vancouver Island Marmots. Journal of Mammalogy 96:810-26.

Kruckenhauser, L., W. Pinsker, E. Haring, and W. Arnold. 1999. Marmot phylogeny revisited: molecular evidence for a diphyletic origin of sociality. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 37:49-56.

Kruckenhauser, L., A.A. Bryant, S.C. Griffin, S.J. Amish, and W. Pinsker. 2009. Patterns of within and between-colony microsatellite variation in the Endangered Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis): implications for conservation. Conservation Genetics 10:1759-72.

Legaarden, T.K., J‐P. Walton, J.C. Plaizier, B.W. McBride, and E.V. Valdes. 2001. Serum fatty acid analysis and digestibility study in the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) fed a captive diet supplemented with Α‐linolenic acid. Zoo Biology 20:251–259.

Lichota, G.B., M. McAdie, and P.S. Ross. 2004. Endangered Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis): sentinels of atmospherically delivered contaminants to British Columbia, Canada. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 23:402–407.

Lloyd, N.A., N. J. Hostetter C. L. Jackson S. J. Converse A. Moehrenschlager. 2018. Optimizing release strategies: a stepping‐stone approach to reintroduction. Animal Conservation, 22, 2:105-115

Mace, T.F., and C.D. Shepard. 1981. Helminths of a Vancouver Island Marmot, Marmota vancouverensis Swarth, 1911, with a description of Diandrya vancouverensis sp. nov. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae).

Martell, A.M., and R.J. Milko. 1986. Seasonal diets of Vancouver Island Marmots. Canadian Field-Naturalist 100:241-245.Canadian Journal of Zoology 59:790-792

Milnes, E., P. Delnatte, H.Y. Cai, and N. Nemeth. 2018. Systemic encephalitozoonosis due to Encephalitozoon cuniculi strain IV in a Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 49 (2): 484-8.

Nagorsen, D.W.  1987.  Marmota vancouverensis.  Mammalian Species. 270: 1-5.

Nagorsen, D.W., and A. Cardini. 2009. Tempo and mode of evolutionary divergence in modern and Holocene Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis) (Mammalia, Rodentia). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutional Research 47:258–267.

Nankoo, J.F., and S. Macdonald. 2008. Maternal behaviour in captive Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 62:285.

Raverty, S., and S. Black. 2001. Causes of death in captive Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis) including presumptive pulmonary mycoplasmosis. Canadian Veterinary Journal 42:386–387.

Swarth, H.S. 1911. Two new species of marmots from Northwestern America. University of California Publications in Zoology. 7: 201-204.

Swarth, H.S. 1912. Report on a collection of birds and mammals from Vancouver Island. University of California Publications in Zoology. 10: 1-124.

Steppan, S.J., M.R. Akhverdyan, E.A. Lyapunova, D.G. Fraser, N.N. Vorontsov, R.S. Hoffmann, and M.J. Braun. 1999. Molecular phylogeny of the marmots (Rodentia: Sciuridae): tests of evolutionary and biogeographic hypotheses. Syst. Biol. 48:715–734.

Steppan, S.J., G. J. Kenagy, C. Zawadzki, R. Robles, E.A. Lyapunova, and R. S. Hoffmann. 2011. Molecular data resolve placement of the Olympic Marmot and estimate dates of trans-Beringian interchange. Journal of Mammalogy 92:1028–37.

Thelin, L., J. Lewis, A. Gilchrist, and J. Craig. 2018. The potential effects of climate change on the habitat range of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Canadian Geographer 78:1394-1403.

Werner, J.R. 2005. The Endangered Vancouver Island Marmot: Allee effects and reintroduction success. MSc thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 90 pp.

Werner, J.R. 2012. Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis) consume plants containing toxic secondary compounds. Canadian Field-Naturalist 126: 55–58.

Werner, J.R. 2018. Getting back to normal: space use and behaviour of reintroduced and wild Vancouver Island Marmots. Canadian Wildlife Biology and Management 6:66-78.

 

Technical Reports

Bryant, A.A. 2004. Vancouver Island Marmot: accounts and measures for managing identified wildlife: Accounts V. 2004. B.C. Min. Water, Land Air Protect., Victoria, BC.

Bryant, A.A., with D.A. Blood.  1999.  Vancouver Island Marmot.  Wildlife at risk in British Columbia.  Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (Victoria, BC).  6 pp.

Nagorsen, D.W, G. Keddie, and T. Luszcz. 1996. Vancouver Island Marmot bones from subalpine caves: archaeological and biological significance. B.C. Min. Environ., Lands, and Parks, Victoria, BC. BC Parks Occas. Pap. No. 4.

 

Conference Proceedings

Bryant, A.A. 2000. Relative importance of episodic versus chronic mortality in the decline of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Pp. 189-195, in L.M. Darling (ed.). Proceedings of a conference on the biology and management of species and habitats at risk (Kamloops, BC, Feb. 15-19 1999). Volume I. BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and University College of the Cariboo, Victoria, British Columbia.

Bryant, A.A. 2007. Recovery efforts for Vancouver Island Marmots, Canada. Pp. 30-32 in P.S, Soorae (ed.): Re-introduction News. Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Re-Introduction Specialist Group, Abu Dhabi, UAE. No. 26: 60 pp.

Bryant, A.A., and M. McAdie.  2003.  Hibernation ecology of wild and captive Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis).  Pages 159 – 166 in R. Ramousse, D. Allaine and M. Le Berre (editors): Adaptive Strategies and Diversity in Marmots.  International Marmot Network, Lyon, France.

Bryant, A.A., H.M. Schwantje and N.I. deWith.  2002.  Disease and unsuccessful reintroduction of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis).  Pages 101-107 in K.B. Armitage and V.U. Rumianstev (editors): Holarctic Marmots as a Factor of Biodiversity.  ABF Publishing House (Moscow). 411 pp.

Elner, R.W. 2000. Proceedings: International workshop for the conservation of Vancouver Island Marmot. Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific and Yukon Region. Delta, British Columbia.

Hebda, R.J., McDadi, O, Mazzucchi1, D. 2005. History of habitat and the decline of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis). Proceedings of the Species at Risk 2004 Pathways to Recovery Conference, Victoria, British Columbia. Edited by T.D. Hooper. 7 pp.

Keeley T., L. Graham, A. Campbell, C. Howell, and S. MacDonald. 2003. Reproductive behaviour and endocrinology of the Vancouver Island Marmot for use in captive breeding programs. Pp. 117–122 in R. Ramousse, D. Allaine, and M. Le Berre (eds). Adaptive Strategies and Diversity in Marmots, International Marmot Network, Lyon, France.

Laroque, C.P. 1998. Tree invasion in subalpine Vancouver Island Marmot meadows. B.C. Environmental Research Scholarship Committee, Victoria, British Columbia.

McAdie, M. 2004. History and current status of the Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) captive-breeding program. In: Proc. Species at Risk 2004 Pathways to Recovery Conf., T.D. Hooper (ed.). Victoria, BC.

 

Books with info on VIM Biology

Armitage, K. B. 2014. Marmot Biology : Sociality, Individual Fitness, and Population Dynamics. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, UK). 405 pp.

Calvert, G., and S. Crockford. 1983. Analysis of faunal remains from the Shoemaker Bay site. Pp. 174-219 in A.D. MacMillan and D.E. St. Claire (eds.). Alberni Prehistory: Archeological and Ethnographic Investigations on Western Vancouver Island. Theytus Books, Nanaimo.

Murie, J.O. and G.R. Michener (eds). 1984. The biology of ground-dwelling squirrels. Univ. Nebraska Press. Lincoln, NB. 459 pp.

Nagorsen, D.W. 2005. Rodents and lagomorphs of British Columbia. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC.