Biologists predict the migration of marmots from the Ulyanovsk region to Samara

Biologists of Samara University (a member-university of the National Project “Science and Universities”) predict gradual migration of steppe marmots from the Ulyanovsk Region to the Samara Region. This forecast was made by scientists, based on the results of their expedition trips to the border of the Regions in spring.

“There has already been the steady colony of marmots on the border of the Ulyanovsk and Samara Regions, to be monitored by the University biologists. Under favorable conditions and further increase in the number of the colony, marmots can begin leaving en masse their home colony, occupying the territories of the districts of the Samara Region, bordering the Ulyanovsk Region, primarily the Shigonsky District. It is difficult to say exactly when this will happen, because of various factors, though usually, distribution of marmots occurs gradually: grown young animals at the age of 3–5 years old leave their parent burrows, looking for their own plots of land where they create their home. Herewith, the young animals, as a rule, settle at a distance of no more than 5–6 km from their parent burrows,” told us Maria Fokina, Associate Professor of the Department of Ecology, Botany and Nature Conservation at Samara University.

The Shigonsky District borders the Sengileevsky District of the Ulyanovsk Region, with the Sengileyevsky Mountains National Park to be located, where marmots have chosen the chalk slopes along the Arbuga River. According to Maria Fokina, currently, the colony of steppe marmots in the valley of the river is one of the largest in the Ulyanovsk Region, the colony length is over 9 km. In total, there are more than 11.5 thousand marmots in the Ulyanovsk Region, and about 7.5 thousand — in the Samara Region.

“Animals are counted by burrows and by direct counting of livestock, usually, for greater accuracy, these methods are used together. It should be noted that in the Samara Region, all large populations of marmots inhabit the border territories, for example, the southern populations of marmots are concentrated very close to the Saratov Region and Kazakhstan, where the number of marmots is much bigger than ours, so the conclusion about the ongoing resettlement of migrant marmots to us suggests itself,” Maria Fokina noted.

Nowadays, biologists can fairly accurately determine the origin of marmots from a particular colony, that is, where they come from, “where they came from”: for this purpose, genetic studies are carried out. Scientists take a swab from the inside of the marmot’s cheek and do the DNA test, comparing the results with the available database. Indirect methods of determining the origin of marmots — by their settlement structure, by the animals’ settlement direction are also used. For this purpose, during their field expedition trips, scientists annually conduct mapping, i.e. they make maps of the colonies. using the placed camera traps, biologists monitor the animals’ life, observing their behavior. They also watch the animals in person — marmots are very trusting by nature and sometimes let people get very close.