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Humans and dogs initiate measurable escape responses in wild animals including flight initiation distance (FID), with potentially negative consequences. Golden marmots are important prey for endangered carnivores and are subject to human persecution including via marmot baiting with dogs. We quantified FID at four marmot colonies (72 individuals) in the Karakoram range, Pakistan in response to approach by a pedestrian with a leashed dog versus approach by a pedestrian alone (i.e., a control). Additionally, we related FID to background variables of human activity, namely proximity to roads, and presence of other pedestrians in the vicinity of study sites during sampling. We also controlled for potential environmental and social covariates (e.g., group size, age and sex, and colony substrate). Dogs initiated greater FID than pedestrians alone, and there was evidence that roads increased FID. However, these effects were weaker than those of marmot age and colony substrate. FID was greater at lower elevations, but this may reflect the clustering in these zones of human settlements and livestock pasture. Further work is needed elucidate the importance of colony substrate (linked to ease of human persecution), the effect of settlements and pasture, and the impact of increased FID on marmot fitness.

Marmots form a part of the diet of some endangered species such as the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), therefore the knowledge on their distribution and habitat preferences are crucial to the interest of the conservation and management of carnivores at high altitudes. Considering this, within a snow leopard project run by Biosphere Expeditions and NABU (Kyrgyzstan), surveys were carried out in summer field seasons of 2014–2019 to assess the distribution of the long-tailed marmots (Marmota caudata) in an area centered around the Karakol Mountain Pass (polygon centroid 74.83° E, 42.37° N) in the Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range. The presence of occupied marmot burrows was recorded using the location (cell) given by a grid, the code of which was displayed in a GPS. Using cells allows examination of data at a wider scale, so information is collected from different cells that are spread from each other, avoiding data autocorrelation. Environmental factors that may affect the spatial distribution of burrow systems were considered: land surface temperature (LST) in winter and summer, summer normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and soil type data. The relationship between environmental factors and burrow records was analyzed using ecological niche models (Maxent) to predict the distributions of marmot burrows. The models performed well with average test AUC values of 0.939. The contribution orders of the variables in the models were summer NDVI and DEM, winter LST, summer LST, and soil type. The distribution of the suitable areas was largely (up to 38 % permutation importance) affected by summer NDVI. NDVI is an indicator of the feeding conditions of marmots and most of the records were distributed in areas with NDVI in summer ranging from 0.5 to 0.7. According to the prediction maps, suitable marmot habitat (> 0.5 predicted probabilities of occurrence) can occupy up to 40 % of study area. These maps are used to direct sampling efforts to areas on the landscape that tend to have greater predicted probabilities of occurrence and accomplish ground validation of snow leopard habitat quality. Бабаки складають частину раціону деяких зникаючих видів, зокрема таких як сніговий барс (Panthera uncia), тому знання про їхнє поширення та екологічні преференції мають вирішальне значення для справи збереження та природоохоронного управління хижими тваринами на великих висотах. Враховуючи це, в рамках проекту стосовно снігового барса, яким керують неурядові організації «Біосферні експедиції» та NABU (Киргизстан), влітку 2014–2019 рр. були проведені обстеження просторового розподілу довгохвостих бабак (Marmota caudata) в районі, зосередженого навколо гірського перевалу Каракол (полігонний центроїд 74.83° сх. д., 42.37° пн. ш.) на хребті Киргизського Ала-Тоо. Наявність зайнятих нір бабака фіксували за допомогою пристрою GPS зі завантанженою картою місцевості поділеною на комірки, кожна з яких має унікальний код. Використання комірок дозволяє отримувати дані в більш широкому масштабі, при цьому інформація збирається з різних комірок, віддалених одна від одної, і таким чином можна уникнути автокореляції даних. Були розглянуті екологічні фактори, які можуть впливати на просторовий розподіл нір: температура поверхні землі (LST) взимку та влітку, літній нормалізований диференційний вегетаційний індекс (NDVI), цифрова модель висоти (DEM) та дані про тип ґрунту. Взаємозв'язок між екологічними факторами та розподілом нір був проаналізований за допомогою моделей екологічної ніші (Maxent). Моделі показали добру відповідність, середні значення показника AUC для тестових даних склав 0,939. За внеском у модель змінні ранжуються в наступному порядку: літні NDVI та DEM, зимові LST, літні LST та тип ґрунту. На розподіл сприятливих для перебування бабаків територій найбільший вплив мав літній NDVI (до 38 % пермутаційної важливості). NDVI — це показник стану кормової бази бабаків і якраз більшість реєстрацій їхніх нір зроблено там, де NDVI коливається в межах 0,5–0,7. Згідно з картами прогнозування, сприятливе середовище перебування бабака (де ймовірність появи тварин > 0,5) може займати до 40 % площі дослідження. Ці карти використовуються для спрямування зусиль стосовно обстеження ділянок ландшафту на предмет виявлення бабаків та наземної верифікації якості угідь для перебування снігового барса.

A fatal combined infection with canine distemper virus (CDV) and orthopoxvirus (OPXV) in Asian marmots ( Marmota caudata) is reported in this article. A total of 7 Asian marmots from a small zoological garden in Switzerland were found dead in hibernation during a routine check in the winter of 2011. The marmots died in February 2011. No clinical signs of disease were observed at any time. The viruses were detected in all individuals for which the tissues were available ( n = 3). Detection of the viruses was performed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The most consistent gross lesion was a neck and thorax edema. A necrotizing pharyngitis and a multifocal necrotizing pneumonia were observed histologically. Numerous large intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusions were seen in the epithelial cells of the pharynx, of the airways, and in the skin keratinocytes. Brain lesions were limited to mild multifocal gliosis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the marmot CDV strain was closely related to the clusters of CDVs detected in Switzerland in wild carnivores during a local outbreak in 2002 and the 2009–2010 nationwide epidemic, suggesting a spillover of this virus from wildlife. The OPXV was most closely related to a strain of cowpoxvirus, a poxvirus species considered endemic in Europe. This is the first reported instance of CDV infection in a rodent species and of a combined CDV and OPXV infection.

246. Long-tailed Marmot Marmota caudata French: Marmotte a longue queue / German: Langschwanzmurmeltier / Spanish: Marmota de cola larga Other common names: Golden Marmot, Red Marmot Taxonomy. Arctomys caudatus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1844, “la vallée du Gom- bour, élevée de 3500 metres.” Interpret ed by S. I. Ognev in 1963 as “Hombur [Ghombur] area, upper reaches of the Indus in Kashmir, [India].” Widely used subspecific name dichrous has been changed for gender agreement. Three subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. M. c¢. caudata 1. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1844 — N India (Kashmir). M.c.aureaBlanford,1875—SEKazakhstan,EUzbekistan,WChina(WXinjiang),Kyrgyzstan,andTajikistan. M. c. dichroa Anderson, 1875 — Afghanistan and N Pakistan. Descriptive notes. Head-body mean 500 mm, tail mean 182 mm; weight 3-5 kg. The Long-tailed Marmot has long coarse dorsal pelage that is golden orange suffused with black; dorsal black midline or saddle is often apparent. Head typically has dark brown to black cap that extends from snout to back of skull and includes eyes and cheeks. Tail is relatively long and bushy, with solid black tip. Venter is rusty orange. Bare eye patches are larger on males than females. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 38 and FN = 70. Nominate caudata has darkest dorsum of subspecies; dichroa is more grayish; and aurea has brilliant yellow-to-orange venter and suffusion ofthis color over some of its dorsum. Habitat. High elevation, low productivity alpine flats and meadows, often associated with glacial and terminal moraines. Alpine scrub with some dwarfjuniper (Juniperus, Cupressaceae) is also selected. Food and Feeding. The Long-tailed Marmot is an herbivore that feeds primarily on young grasses, shoots of forbs, legumes, and small shrubs in open grasslands. Breeding. The Long-tailed Marmotlives in complex burrows where young are born. Mating occurs about the time of spring emergence, and ¢.17% of females breed. Litters of 2-6 young are born after gestation of 30-33 days. Weaning is related to food availability, and ¢.60% ofjuveniles die during the first year. Infanticide by immigrating males occurs to avoid providing resources for another male’s progeny. Juveniles delay dispersal and remain in their natal group for at least three years. Most dispersal appears to occurafter sexual maturity when males move to groups with fewer individuals than their natal group. Non-juvenile survival increases in years when food is abundant. Activity patterns. Long-tailed Marmots are diurnal. They are only aboveground for 4-5 months, emerging from burrows in late spring or early summer. Individuals often bask on rocks or at burrow entrances. Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Long-tailed Marmotis social and lives in large colonies often consisting of many monogamous pairs, but groups of seven adults plus their young and yearlings are also reported. Densities are typically less than 0-5 ind/ha. Home ranges are large and average 3 ha. Group members nest communally and most often are amicable. Both sexes scent-mark near their burrows using orbital glands; males are more responsive to novel scents than females. In some parts of the distribution, Long-tailed Marmots are hunted and trapped for food, pelts, and medicinal purposes; they are not considered pests, except where they are believed to compete with livestock for forage. The Long-tailed Marmot frequently is vigilant, standing on its haunches. Complex alarm calls warn conspecifics about relative risk of predation, and they use a variety of less apparent vocalizations in other social contexts. Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix III (India). Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Population trend of the Long-tailed Marmot is unknown. Lack of knowledge about the natural history of this species impedes conservation and management. Hunting of Long-tailed Marmots for food and medicine appears to be a significant threat in somelocalities. Overgrazing and rangeland degradation can be an issue. Bibliography. Armitage (2014), Blumstein & Arnold (1998), Habibi (2004), Hayssen (2008a), Ognev (1963), Qureshi et al. (2015), Roberts (1977), Thorington et al. (2012)., Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Sciuridae, pp. 648-837 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 818, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6840226

Long recognized as a threat to wildlife, livestock grazing in protected areas has the potential to undermine conservation goals, via competition, habitat degradation, human-carnivore conflict and disruption of predator-prey relationships. In the Strictly Protected Area Zorkul in Tajikistan (Zorkul Reserve), grazing is commonplace despite official prohibition, with potentially detrimental effects on local fauna, in particular, snow leopard Panthera uncia, wolf Canis lupus, brown bear Ursus arctos, argali sheep Ovis ammon, Asiatic ibex Capra sibirica, and long-tailed marmot Marmota caudata. To understand the impacts of grazing and associated human pastoralism on the large mammal community in Zorkul Reserve we used data from camera traps to build models of ungulate and carnivore site use intensity, and we investigated carnivore summer diets using microscopic scat analysis. While sample sizes limited our inference for several species, we found that site use of the most common ungulate, argali, decreased with proximity to herder's camps, indicating possible displacement into sub-optimal habitats. However, no such pattern was present in carnivore site use. For wolf and snow leopard, the most frequently encountered prey items were argali and marmot, while bear depended almost exclusively on marmot. While current pastoralist practices in the reserve may not be incompatible with wildlife presence, our findings suggest that pastoralism may negatively impact ungulates by displacing them from otherwise suitable habitats, with unknown fitness consequences for ungulates or the predators that depend upon them. Managing Zorkul Reserve and other actively grazed protected areas to meet potentially competing demands of local pastoralist communities and conservation will require careful consideration of such interactions to minimize the risk of cascading negative impacts on wildlife.

Although a variety of behaviors expose animals to some risk of predation, there is no accepted way to compare their relative risk. For animals that retreat to refugia when alarmed by predators, the proportion of time devoted to each out-of-refuge behavior multiplied by the total time required to return to a refuge can be used to compare a behavior's relative predation risk. Total time to return to a refuge is a function of both response time - the time required to respond to an increased risk of predation — and travel time — the time required to flee to a refuge once alarmed. Quantifying these components can illustrate how animals minimize exposure to predators. Golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea) were a refuging prey species used to examine the utility of this measure and to understand how marmots minimized their risk of exposure to predation. Golden marmots devoted different amounts of time to looking, foraging, self-grooming, and playing. To estimate the behavior-specific time required to return to refugia, the location of different activities was noted and a behavior-specific travel time was calculated. Alarm calls were played back to marmots engaged in different behaviors to determine, in a standardized manner, if there were behavior-specific response times. Marmots appeared to minimize their predation risk by performing most behaviors close to refugia. Results suggest that foraging was the riskiest behavior, largely because marmots foraged far from refugia and spent about 30% of their time foraging. While sample sizes were small, results also suggested that play, a rare adult behavior, exposed animals to predation because of a relatively long response time.

We studied the effects of food resources on weaning success, overwinter survival, and social group density in golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea), an Old World sciurid rodent. End-of-season standing crop, a measure of seasonal productivity, varied between marmot groups but seemed repeatable between years. We adjusted some of our measurements of potential food availability by marmot preferences because faecal analysis suggested that marmots foraged selectively. Some, but not all, measured fitness parameters were associated with variation in food availability. The probability of weaning young was associated with overall food availability the previous year, and there was a significant positive relationship between the early-season food resources and the proportion of years in which a group reproduced. Weaning date, a correlate of subsequent juvenile overwinter survival, was associated with overall food availability in the same year. Non-juvenile overwinter survival was weakly associated with food availability. Finally, marmot density was not associated with the availability of food resources. We suggest that obligate social behaviour may limit the degree to which demographic factors can track environmental variation.

Fifty-percent (36/72) of golden marmot (Marmota caudata aurea) pups that emerged above ground their first summer in Dhee Sar, Khunjerab National Park, Pakistan, died before their first hibernation. At least 22% (8/36) of this mortality was attributed to infanticide by new adult male group members. Carcasses were not cannibalized, thus infanticide probably was not a form of resource exploitation. Adult females who lost their entire litters to presumed infanticide were not more likely to breed in subsequent years; an observation inconsistent with infanticide being a form of sexual selection. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that males may kill unrelated pups to avoid providing care to unrelated young even though killed pups include potential future mates.

A commonly cited benefit of group living is the ability for individuals to reduce the time devoted to scanning for predators with increasing group size - the 'group size effect'. Interestingly, most studies reporting a group size effect have focused on documenting a significant group size effect and did not discuss the relative 'importance' of group size. One way to study the relative importance of group size is to calculate the amount of variation in vigilance explained by group size. I studied effects of social group size on golden marmot (Marmota caudata aurea) vigilance in two ways. First, I estimated the overall amount of time marmots were vigilant during their morning active periods. Second, I estimated the amount of time marmots were vigilant specifically while foraging. Analyses statistically controlled for several factors that have been suggested to confound the study of group size effects. While marmots were active, only 14% of the variation in vigilance was explained by social group size. For foraging marmots, even less variation (about 6%) was explained by social group size. The amount of variation explained by social group size in golden marmots is considerably less that reported in several studies of other species where explained variation was reported or could be estimated from data. Some of the discrepancy between variation explained in this and other studies may stem from my focus on social group size which appears to explain less variation than the more commonly studied foraging aggregation size. However, species differ in the amount of time they devote to foraging and therefore vary in the magnitude of net benefit from group size effects. Future comparative work will be required to rigorously study the relationship between amount of time foraging and the magnitude of group size effects.

We studied the function of cheek-rubbing in golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea) by combining observations of the external morphology of the orbital gland, observational studies of marmots cheek-rubbing, and experimental studies of marmots’responses to olfactory secretions from the orbital gland. Adult males had larger eyepatches–areas without hair above the orbital gland–than adult females. Both sexes produced sufficient glandular exudate to pool on the surface of the skin or fur above the orbital gland. Adult males cheek-rubbed more than adult females throughout the summer active season, but both males and females generally cheek-rubbed within 10m of a main burrow. Adult males responded more vigorously to the smells of non-group members of both sexes than to group members of either sex. Adult females responded more vigorously to the smell of non-group females than to non-group males or group members of either sex. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that marmot cheek-rubbing functions to mark defended areas, possibly to minimize costs of aggressive interactions.

I develop a multivariate technique permitting the study of variation in the maximum velocity of animals. The method was applied to study maximum running speed (MRS) of adult golden marmots (Martnota catidata auraa. Subjects were encouraged to run to home burrows after being livetrapped, and were timed while running over a randomly selected distance between 1.7 and 36.0 m. Body mass, sex, distance run, substrate, and incline the individual ran across for 52 different subjects were entered into a linear model, which implicitly modeled MRS as a function of the running time. Body mass did not significantly explain variation in running time and was deleted. A new model fitted to the remaining variables significantly explained variability in time, and therefore MRS. The model did not violate any of the assumptions of linear models, and appeared to be robust. Intrayear repeatability of individual MRS was small, suggesting that environmental factors may account for much of the variation in MRS in golden marmots. The model predicts that the four significant variables (sex, distance run, substrate, incline) should influence space use and patch selection in golden marmots since they influence the speed at which an alarmed marmot can reach a refuge. The general method developed here can be applied to other species and should shed light on patch use and foraging behavior of refuging species.

Marmota caudata (Geoffroy, 1844). In Jacquemont, Voy. dans l'lnde, 4, Zool., p. 66. TYPE LOCALITY: "Hombur [Ghombur] area, upper reaches of the Indus in Kashmir [India]" (Ognev, 1963a:284). DISTRIBUTION: W Tien Shan through the Pamirs (Kirgizistan, Tadzhikistan) to Hindu Kush (Afghanistan), Pakistan, Kashmir (India), and mtns of extreme W Xinjiang and Xizang (China). STATUS: CITES - Appendix III (India). SYNONYMS: aurea (Blanford, 1875); dichrous (Anderson, 1875); flavina (Thomas, 1909); littledalei (Thomas, 1909); stirlingi Thomas, 1916. COMMENTS: Includes dichrous (Corbet, 1978c:82); but also see Gromov et al. (1965:440) who listed it as a distinct species., Published as part of Robert S. Hoffmann & Charles G. Anderson, 1993, Order Rodentia - Family Sciuridae, pp. 419-465 in Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London :Smithsonian Institution Press on pages 431-432, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353130, {"references":["Ognev, S. I. 1963 a. Mammals of the USSR and adjacent countries: Rodents (continued). (Mammals of eastern Europe and northern Asia) [A translation of S. I. Ognev, 1947, Zveri SSSR i prilezhashchikh stran: Gryzuny (prodolzhenie). (Zveri vostochnoi Evropy i severnoi Azii)]. Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, 5: 1 - 662.","Corbet, G. B. 1978 c. The mammals of the Palaearctic region: A taxonomic review. British Museum (Natural History), London, 314 pp.","Gromov, I. M., D. I. Bibikov, N. I. Kalabukhov, and M. N. N. Meier. 1965. Fauna SSSR, Mlekopitayushchie, tom. 3, vyp. 2 [Fauna of the U. S. S. R. Mammals. vol. 3, No. 2]. Nazemnye belich'e [Ground Squirrels]. Nauka, Moscow-Leningrad, 467 pp. (in Russian)."]}

We studied golden marmots (Marmota caudata aurea), a little-studied, hibernating Eurasian sciurid, for 6 years at Dhee Sar, Pakistan, to evaluate their social behavior in light of existing thoughts about social evolution of marmots. Golden marmots most commonly were found in apparently monogamous associations (37/89 social groups consisted of one adult male and one adult female) but lived in larger groups containing up to seven adults, where group members shared a common home range and burrow system. When multiple adults lived together, contrary to the typical sciurid pattern, they lived in male-biased social groups. When multiple adult females shared a home range, only a single female in a given group lactated and weaned young. Reproduction was infrequent; >80% of social groups failed to wean a litter in any given year. Golden marmots delayed leaving their natal home range until after they had reached adult body size (2::3 years old) and were presumably sexually mature. Groups with mUltiple adults were largely a consequence of delayed dis­ persal. Resident marmots commonly tolerated adult immigrants. Golden marmots hiber­ nated socially; the active season of all members of a group was identical. Overwinter mortality of juveniles (30%) was higher than that of yearlings or adults « 10%). Some evidence of benefits from social hibernation was found; juveniles hibernating with only parents and littermate siblings suffered lower overwinter mortality than juveniles hibernat­ ing with other individuals. While general predictions about sociality in marmots were up­ held, an economic model combining defense costs and resource distribution failed to ex­ plain the mechanism of social monogamy.

Marmota caudata (Geoffroy, 1842- 1843). In Jacquemont, Voy. dans 1' Inde, 4, Zool., p. 66. TYPE LOCALITY: India, Kashmir, upper Indus River, Ghombur. DISTRIBUTION: W. Tien Shan through the Pamirs to Hindu Kush and Kashmir. COMMENT: Includes dichrous; see Corbet, 1978:82; but also see Gromov et al., 1965:440. ISIS NUMBER: 5301410002016003001., Published as part of James H. Honacki, Kenneth E. Kinman & James W. Koeppl, 1982, Order Rodentia (Part 1), pp. 345-382 in Mammal Species of the World (1 st Edition), Lawrence, Kansas, USA :Alien Press, Inc. & The Association of Systematics Collections on page 355, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353023, {"references":["Gromov, I. M., D. I. Bibikov, N. I. Kalabukhov, and M. N. N. Meier. 1965. Fauna SSSR, Mlekopitayushchie, tom. 3, vyp. 2 [Fauna of the U. S. S. R. Mammals. vol. 3, No. 2]. Nazemnye belich'e [Ground Squirrels]. Nauka, Moscow-Leningrad, 467 pp. (in Russian)."]}