FIELD NOTES
Ermine in winter. ADFG/Tim Mcleod
Evolution in Action Climate change is already wreaking havoc with many species of birds and animals that depend on seasonally changing color to survive (e.g. hares, weasels, Arctic fox). A recent paper by University of Montana Professor Scott Mills and his team of international scientists published in Science magazine brings hope that these species may be saved through adaptive evolution. Snow is coming later and melting earlier. Genetically preprogrammed to change their brown summer coats to white in late fall now means there is a month where their natural camouflage ability to hide from predators makes them easy prey. Imagine a stark white weasel on a bare dark landscape as spring arrives, the yet to molt white animal is again vulnerable and unable to “blend in.” As the climate has warmed, there has been a noticeable decline in population. Thorough, rigorous research across the globe has uncovered
58
polymorphic areas (hot spots) where some of the studied species were already evolving by staying brown longer or even year round. The animals were working to ensure they didn’t become extinct. But they can’t do it alone. We need to do our part to take care of these “hot spots” by cutting back on carbon dioxide emissions. The world has taken notice of the findings. According to the Missoulian, “the BBC covered the paper, the outcome of an analysis of 2,713 samples of winter coat colors from 60 countries. So did the Atlantic and National Geographic. “Science” is considered the leading scientific journal on the planet in terms of circulation and peer review, covering the most relevant research emerging across fields. High praise and validation for the study.” Congratulations to: Scott Mills, Eugenia Bragina, Alexander Kumar, Marketa Zimova, Diana Lafferty, Jennifer Feltner, Brandon Davis, Klaus Hackländer, Paulo Alves, Jeffrey Good, José Melo-Ferreira, Andreas Dietz, Alexei Abramov, Natalia Lopatina, and Kairsten Fay.