Rodents Feel the Heat

Climate change could deprive rodents, such as lemmings, of the snow they need to build their homes, while locking their food up in ice. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) will study how the tiny rodents will fare in the face of global warming.

Lemmings are small mouse-like animals that reside in the tundra where they rely on sufficient snow depth to insulate them from the frigid winter temperatures. They munch on the region’s sparse sedges and dwarf shrubs. However, current warming in the tundra has led to freezing rain and episodes of thawing and freezing, which can coat their grassy food in ice.

“We need to know how climate change will affect a variety of resident and migratory predators that rely in large part on these small arctic rodents,” said WCS Canada researcher Don Reid. “The ability of lemmings to adapt to these changes will have a significant impact on the entire food web, so we need to understand more about lemming ecology within the context of climate change.”

Predators that specialize on eating lemmings, such as snowy owls and arctic foxes, may suffer if lemming numbers dip. Other predators may benefit. Some research has revealed that red foxes have usurped considerable areas from arctic foxes in recent decades. Plus, warmer temperatures may have increased populations of the red foxes’ prey, including ground squirrels and birds.

—LiveScience Staff

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Credit: Don Reid/Wildlife Conservation Society