Summary: Blumstein et al. (2004)

Blumstein et al. (2004) investigated social hibernation in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), as the species has a harem/polygynous social system, by monitoring emergence patterns from hibernation. Females share burrows and show home-range overlap in summer. They found that, as for 14 other species of the marmots, yellow-bellied marmots are social hibernators. They indicate that, although they hibernate socially, they might not accrue benefits of social thermoregulation. Blumstein et al. (2004) suggest that emergence times are occurring earlier in the year, consistent with global climate change models that suggest an influence of climate change on hibernation patterns in sub-alpine areas.