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Climate change conundrum: Will Arctic animals' wardrobes be able to adapt? http://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1347413884
It's a twice-annual change of wardrobe, one that helps the snowshoe hare avoid becoming another animal's lunch.
An age-old biological phenomenon critical to animal survival, the hare sheds its rust-coloured coat for its white winter apparel at around this time every year, a seasonal change called moulting that not only keeps the animal warm, but also provides camouflage for its snowy surroundings.
But what happens if northern landscapes usually covered in snow remain muddy brown for longer stretches of time each year? Will the hare, and other moulting snow-dwellers, still change their coats?
That's the question perplexing biologists as climate change continues to alter the Arctic landscape: whether the hare and other moulting species -- the ptarmigan, Arctic fox and collared lemming among them -- will be able to adapt their camouflaging behaviour as the snow and ice around them continues to vanish.
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[Read more stories about:
anthropogenic change, arctic meltdown]
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Does this extinction make my butt look big?
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