Vancouver Island University and the Wilder Institute are using a new, rugged outdoor scale to assess the health of critically endangered Vancouver Island marmots. The scale, equipped with technology to read implanted identification chips, will help researchers determine if larger marmots have more babies and if providing them with calorie-dense biscuits near their winter shelters boosts their weight and reproduction. This study is crucial for the recovery of this keystone species, which once dwindled to as few as 30 individuals but has rebounded to at least 300 in recent decades.
Technicians and researchers with Vancouver Island University and the Wilder Institute are ready to deploy their latest version of an outdoor scale this summer to assess the health of the critically endangered species and determine if larger marmots have more babies.
Mike Lester, a technician in the faculty of science and technology at Vancouver Island University, says the latest scale has a plywood surface and is the first with technology that will read a chip implanted in each marmot to identify them. The population of Vancouver Island marmots once dipped as low as 30 but has rebounded to at least 300 individuals in the last two decades.
ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION MARMOTS RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY
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