Science:
As the climate warms, will mammals whose coat color changes
with the seasons be able to adapt? L. Scott Mills of the
University of Montana and colleagues
report
online in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that
snowshoe hares in the US Rocky Mountains are starting to stick
out more because their seasonal color change is getting out of
sync with their environment. Over the past decade, Mills has
noticed more white hares in brown surroundings. For the study,
the researchers tracked some 50 hares through three winters and
noted how well their coat color matched the local background.
Although they found that the animals' twice yearly molting
cycle was fairly consistentâmdash;always
starting about 10 October and 10
Aprilâmdash;they appeared to be able to vary
the rate of change slightly. "It makes me optimistic that they
can adapt by evolutionary change," Mills said.
