Adjunct Professor, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario. Vancouver Island Marmot shares many life history characteristics with other alpine marmots; they are social, rely on a burrow system for protection from predators and adverse weather, and all have a predictable annual cycle highlighted by a hibernation period and an active season (Barash 1989, Amritage 2014). Munro, W.T., D.W. Janz, V. Heinsalu, and G.W. Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Elizabeth A. Gillis for writing the status report on Vancouver Island Marmot, Marmota vancouverensis, in Canada, prepared under contract with Environment and Climate Change Canada. Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team. Each year, an average of 2.8 (SD = 3.3, n = 12) captive-born marmots and 2.8 (SD = 3.0, n = 24) wild marmots had their radio transmitters replaced because the transmitter batteries were at or past their life expectancy. Posted July 25, 2019 1:38 pm . Wild Vancouver Island Marmot typically hibernate for approximately 210 days (mean immergence = 1 October, 95% CI = 28 September to 3 October, n = 49; mean emergence = 28 April, 95% CI = 26 to 30 April, n = 43; Bryant and McAdie 2003). Intensity and extent of surveys varied from year to year; the smallest effort occurred in 1975, when a single colony was visited on one day, and the greatest effort occurred in 1997, with 242 visits to 37 colonies. Many people and agencies assisted in gathering data in the field and in providing analyses over a period of 40 years. The peak of 85 occurred in 2010 when the captive population was being downsized. 2015. 2009) which implies the population has been small for an extended period. 2017. Blood. Restricted to alpine meadows of Vancouver Island. MSc thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1999). Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Courtenay et Campbell River comptent parmi les autres villes notables. J. Wildl. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The population of Vancouver Island was 870,297 as of 2019. Marmots have been tested for chemical residues/toxins in the past. The positive impact, if any, of providing supplemental food on marmot survival and reproduction has not yet been quantified. If they successfully survive their first hibernation in the wild, overwinter survival in subsequent years is similar to that of wild-born marmots (Jackson et al. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. These cameras often were set up to monitor feeders, which provided marmots with supplemental food in the early spring (Doyle 2011). Également disponible en français sous le titre Évaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la Marmotte de l’île de Vancouver (, , in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.” PLoS One 12 (8):e0183375, Species at Risk Act: COSEWIC assessments and status reports, Wildlife species description and significance, Acknowledgements and authorities contacted, Appendix 1. August, 2017. According to the report, the province had a population of 5.07 million as of July 1, 2019, an increase of 1.4 per cent from July 1, 2018. McAdie, M. 2018. At several colonies, marmot hibernacula have been associated with forested habitat, so the loss of trees may have a negative effect. Jackson, C., personal communication 2016b. It is listed as endangered on Schedule 1 of Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). For the counts of the total population and mature marmots, the minimum and maximum values averaged 13.1% (SD = 6.1%, n = 8) and 15.2% (SD = 5.6%, n = 8) below and above the reported count, respectively. 1998. Vancouver Island Marmot is on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and is also listed as endangered (Schedule E) under the British Columbia Wildlife Act. 2005. 2016). Glenn MacDonald CTV Vancouver Island Published Friday, July 26, 2019 11:57AM PDT Last Updated Friday, July 26, 2019 5:24PM PDT The five endangered Vancouver Island marmot pups will … Compared to other species of marmots, Vancouver Island Marmot has atypical skull morphology (Cardini et al. 109 pp. Univ. Reproductive rates of wild and captive Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Blumstein, D.T. This is the result of a warming temperature that induces the growth of forests at higher elevations and a decrease in depth of winter snow pack, which is important for overwinter survival of marmots (Thelin et al. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. However, the population decreased by 78 or 66% over the past generation (2012 to 2017), again representing exponential and linear growth, respectively. Brashares, J.S., J.R. Werner, and A.R.E. Journal of Animal Ecology 79:965 to 973. The recovery goal is to establish a self-sustaining wild population of Vancouver Island marmots. The Vancouver Island Marmot is listed as Endangered under the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA) and by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Species (COSEWIC). In contrast, under the declining population model, PE100 was 100%. Since the 2008 assessment of Vancouver Island Marmot by COSEWIC, the population has undergone a significant increase in abundance followed by a more recent decline. Keeley, T., K.L. Vancouver Island Marmot was hunted by Indigenous people as evidenced by cut marks on marmot bones found at four archeological cave/rock shelter sites on Vancouver Island (Nagorsen et al. Pp. The Vancouver Island marmot is unique to the island. 2015) with five mountains receiving supplementation in 2017 (Jackson personal communication 2017a). By the mid-1980s more than half of the known marmot population inhabited four adjacent mountains in the Nanaimo Lakes area, with most animals living in cut-blocks on Butler Peak, Haley Lake, Gemini Peak and Green Mountain. A new water reservoir is planned for Mount Washington. To maintain the initial population size under the declining population model, mortality rates would have to be reduced by 40%, or the population would require augmentation with 25 effective releases (that is, captive-born releases that survive to the spring following their release) per year (Jackson et al. Cut-block colonies, however, would probably go extinct within 5 to 19 years (Bryant 1996, 1998). Furthermore, the small size of the current wild population makes the population more susceptible to disease and stochastic demographic or weather events. 2017). The largest colony ever recorded, 39 animals (1994) in the Butler Peak “west roads” cut-blocks, was reduced to 15 individuals in 1995. There were an estimated 200 marmots on the Island at the end of 2019, said Taylor, with nine marmots being released on Mount Washington within the last two weeks. Marmots may be killed through poaching or collected from the wild to augment the captive breeding population. The Vancouver Island marmot is a critically endangered species; fewer than 100 are known to exist and the remnant populations seem to be declining. [accessed December 2017]. Cardini, A., D. Nagorsen, P. O’Higgins, P.D. 2015. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. e.T12828A22259184. Release of captive-born marmots to these and additional mountains has resulted in the species successfully occupying 31 different mountains in recent years; 17 mountains in the Nanaimo Lakes area, 12 mountains in the Strathcona Park area, and one mountain each in Schoen Lake and Clayoquot Plateau (Figure 2). 2015. Calvert, G., and S. Crockford. The Vancouver Island marmot is certainly the most famous animal on Vancouver Island, and perhaps is even the most famous endangered animal in Canada. The reason for the decline varied among years. Adaptive Strategies and Diversity in Marmots. Écosystèmes. 10.1002/esc2.1314. Vancouver Island Marmot project final report, 2013. MacDonald. Expansion of the trail network for skiing and mountain biking is expected to occur at Mount Washington within the next few years. Kruckenhauser, L., W. Pinsker, E. Haring, and W. Arnold. Considering just the first two generations, the population increased by 1332 or 731%. Fifty-five of these were brought into captivity from 1997 to 2004 and an additional eight wild-born marmots were brought into the captive population in 2016 and 2017 to increase genetic diversity in the captive population. Verbal communication to Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Threat Assessment participants. Province of British Columbia. A population viability analysis suggests that there is a high probability of extinction if there are extended periods of low adult survival, as observed during previous and most recent declines, and there are relatively few captive-bred animals introduced into the extant wild colonies. Bacon. 2012. Some of the land on Mt. 2018). vi + 25 pp. Finally, Vancouver Island Marmot is a foreign mammal listed under the U.S. Porter. Over the last 20 years (1997 - 2016) 61 marmots have been collected for the breeding program and 490 marmots from the captive population have been released into the wild; approximately eight marmots released for every marmot collected). 2015) from that model resulted in an estimate of 3.19 marmots after five generations when starting with a population of 135 individuals. Ottawa. In April 1978, Vancouver Island Marmot was assessed as endangered by COSEWIC (Munro 1978). 117 to 122 in R. Ramousse, D. Allaine, and M. Le Berre (eds). 2014. Metapopulation dynamics of Vancouver Island Marmots (Marmota vancouverensis). Endangered Species Act (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1984, 2017). Duration of snow cover and its influence on life-history variation in Yellow-bellied Marmots. Captive-release marmots move up to 20 km from the release site the year they are released (Table 3). In the past, two marmots drowned (along with several other species) in a reservoir because the lining material was slippery and the marmots could not climb out. The critically endangered species has gone from a low count of just 30 wild marmots living in handful of locations in 2003 to approximately 200 living in colonies across 20 Vancouver Island mountains by 2019. British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Litter size at weaning varies from 1 to 7 pups per litter in the wild population (mean = 3.4, SD = 1.1, n = 58; Bryant 2005) and is the same in captivity (mean = 3.39, n = 167; Jackson et al. Marmot Recovery Foundation, Nanaimo, British Columbia. 1986. 6 pp. For the writing of the report, the Marmot Recovery Foundation provided access to their unpublished data, and Cheyney Jackson, Malcolm McAdie, and Adam Taylor assisted in facilitating the data transfer and interpretation. = 142) Vancouver Island Marmot in the wild. Chart illustrating the reproductive success of Vancouver Island Marmots in the wild from 2008 to 2017, as indicated by number of pups weaned, number of sites where weaned pups were observed, and ratio of pups to adults. Probability of extinction in the wild is at least [20% within 20 years or 5 generations, or 10% within 100 years]: No: if populations have relatively high survival rates associated with observed growth of the population (PE100 <1% across K values 200 to 350), Yes: if populations have continuously low survival rates observed during previous declines (PE100 = 100% in absence of management), Was a threats calculator completed for this species? Threatened by habitat loss, wolves, cougars, and natural attrition, today a majority of these animals live in captivity. Acker, M.J. 2018. a Data as of end of August 2017. Email. PhD thesis. The typical herbicide is glyphosate with spot application through backpack sprayer. Written communication to Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team. The potential severity is unknown and could be variable because marmots may change their behaviour and many have the option to use a nearby slope or area where conditions are not as dry. Colonies experiencing a population decline may be rescued by dispersing individuals if there is an active colony within dispersal distance. Vancouver Island Marmot in captivity exhibit reproductive and many behavioral traits comparable to their wild counterparts (Bryant 2005; Blumstein et al. There have been at least six recorded instances of Yellow-bellied Marmot reaching Vancouver Island via accidental transport in vehicles and goods (lumber). Humans recreating near marmot colonies probably benefit marmots because marmot predators may avoid areas of high human use. They may die overwinter (a small negative impact), they may move to another site, or may not be affected. Jackson, C. 2016. Marmota vancouverensis. 2009). Prepared for the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Service. According to the Government of Canada, the Vancouver Island marmot was originally designated as endangered in 1978, a status re-confirmed in 1997, 2000, 2008 and 2019. Scholarship Comm., Victoria, B.C. 2017. Tree ingrowth has occurred at some of the subalpine meadows in which marmots live, but habitat management in the form of manual clearing of trees has occurred and is feasible for small areas (Marmot Recovery Foundation 2016a, Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team 2017). 2016). Even though current inventory efforts focus on known occupied and recently occupied colonies, based on past search efforts (described under “Distribution”), it is unlikely that large colonies of marmots were not counted unless they were recently established colonies in cut-blocks that were not frequented by people. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Oct. 28, 2020 12:00 a.m. 2010). Jackson, C., personal communication 2016a. 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