Colour change of Mountain hares (<i>Lepus timidus scoticus</i>) in north‐east Scotland

Flux, John E. C.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1970.tb01270.x

Cited by 33 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In Northern Europe, the mountain hare is documented as a non-territorial species (Flux 1970b;Hewson 1976;Hewson 1988;Hewson and Hinge 1990;Dahl 2005b), and seasonal home ranges of mountain hares in the present study overlapped considerably, indicating a lack of territorial behavior in both males and females. The degree of overlap was higher in SG than VZ, where densities were also higher (winter densities in SG and VZ respectively 12 and four hares per square kilometer, our unpublished data).…”

Section: Overlap and Site Fidelitymentioning

confidence: 78%

“…An alternative but not mutually exclusive hypothesis is that reduction of home-range size in autumn is an anti-predatory strategy. Small ranges in autumn could be related to hares being in mid-moult (Flux 1970b), becoming completely white in November-December. Hence, lack of snow cover in November-early December could force hares to reduce space use to decrease predation risk.…”

Section: Home Range Sizementioning

confidence: 96%

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Space use patterns of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on the Alps

et al. 2010

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Populations on the limits of species' distribution can show different behavioral adaptations to strong ecological pressure than in the central part of the range. We investigated space use patterns of alpine mountain hare (Lepus timidus) at two areas on the southern edge of the species' range. We monitored 34 hares between 2005 and 2008, estimating home range size, overlap, and site fidelity, and compared our results with space use in Scottish and North-European populations. Home ranges of mountain hares did not differ between two study areas with different habitat types. Subadult animals used larger ranges than adults and both age groups reduced home range size in autumn, a period that might be critical for hares due to changes in diet and/or high energy expenditure during the previous breeding season. Home ranges in these alpine populations were smaller than in Scandinavian populations but within the range of populations in different habitat types in Scotland. Seasonal home ranges overlapped considerably, but differed among the sexes: male-female overlap was higher than same sex (male-male and female-female) spatial overlap. Seasonal shifts of home ranges were small, and site fidelity remained high over the seasons, suggesting that resource distribution remained constant throughout the year and that the knowledge of an intensively frequented area is an important element of habitat quality. We concluded that habitat structure and availability of mates interact in affecting mountain hare space use in alpine habitats.

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Section: Overlap and Site Fidelitymentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Home Range Sizementioning

confidence: 96%

Space use patterns of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on the Alps

et al. 2010

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“…Indeed, naturalists have long noted the remarkable concordance between phenology of hare seasonal coat color change and the presence of snow across elevational, latitudinal, and seasonal gradients (21)(22)(23).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Camouflage mismatch in seasonal coat color due to decreased snow duration

Mills

Zímová

Oyler

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

169

232

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Most examples of seasonal mismatches in phenology span multiple trophic levels, with timing of animal reproduction, hibernation, or migration becoming detached from peak food supply. The consequences of such mismatches are difficult to link to specific future climate change scenarios because the responses across trophic levels have complex underlying climate drivers often confounded by other stressors. In contrast, seasonal coat color polyphenism creating camouflage against snow is a direct and potentially severe type of seasonal mismatch if crypsis becomes compromised by the animal being white when snow is absent. It is unknown whether plasticity in the initiation or rate of coat color change will be able to reduce mismatch between the seasonal coat color and an increasingly snow-free background. We find that natural populations of snowshoe hares exposed to 3 y of widely varying snowpack have plasticity in the rate of the spring white-to-brown molt, but not in either the initiation dates of color change or the rate of the fall brown-to-white molt. Using an ensemble of locally downscaled climate projections, we also show that annual average duration of snowpack is forecast to decrease by 29–35 d by midcentury and 40–69 d by the end of the century. Without evolution in coat color phenology, the reduced snow duration will increase the number of days that white hares will be mismatched on a snowless background by four- to eightfold by the end of the century. This novel and visually compelling climate change-induced stressor likely applies to >9 widely distributed mammals with seasonal coat color.

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“…The new hair may be identical in colour to the previous one, as frequently occurs on normal human scalp, or very different like the Scottish hare's brown summer coat (Flux 1970). Hair colour depends on the amount and type of pigment present in the hair shaft, including the balance of brown/black eumelanin and red/yellow phaeomelanin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…signalling of sexual maturity ( Jansen & van Baalen 2006) or seasonal camouflage (Flux 1970). In men, highly pigmented beard hair replaces the almost colourless, tiny vellus hairs on the child's face after puberty (Marshall & Tanner 1970), while the older, mature male is frequently distinguished by the reverse process on the scalp causing androgenetic alopecia or male pattern baldness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stem cell factor/c-Kit signalling in normal and androgenetic alopecia hair follicles

Randall¹,

Jenner²,

Hibberts³

et al. 2008

Journal of Endocrinology

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Androgens stimulate many hair follicles to alter hair colour and size via the hair growth cycle; in androgenetic alopecia tiny, pale hairs gradually replace large, pigmented ones. Since stem cell factor (SCF) is important in embryonic melanocyte migration and maintaining adult rodent pigmentation, we investigated SCF/c-Kit signalling in human hair follicles to determine whether this was altered in androgenetic alopecia. Quantitative immunohistochemistry detected three melanocyte-lineage markers and c-Kit in four focus areas: the epidermis, infundibulum, hair bulb (where pigment is formed) and mid-follicle outer root sheath (ORS). Colocalisation confirmed melanocyte c-Kit expression; cultured follicular melanocytes also exhibited c-Kit. Few ORS cells expressed differentiated melanocyte markers or c-Kit, but NKI/beteb antibody, which also recognises early melanocyte-lineage antigens, identified fourfold more cells, confirmed by colocalisation. Occasional similar bulbar cells were seen. Melanocyte distribution, concentration and c-Kit expression were unaltered in balding follicles. Androgenetic alopecia cultured dermal papilla cells secreted less SCF, measured by ELISA, than normal cells. This identifies three types of melanocytelineage cells in human follicles. The c-Kit expression by dendritic, pigmenting, bulbar melanocytes and rounded, differentiated, non-pigmenting ORS melanocytes implicate SCF in maintaining pigmentation and migration into regenerating hair bulbs. Less differentiated, c-Kit-independent cells in the mid-follicle ORS stem cell niche and occasionally in the bulb, presumably a local reserve for long scalp hair growth, implicate other factors in activating stem cells. Androgens appear to reduce alopecia hair colour by inhibiting dermal papilla SCF production, impeding bulbar melanocyte pigmentation. These results may facilitate new treatments for hair colour changes in hirsutism, alopecia or greying.

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Colour change of Mountain hares (Lepus timidus scoticus) in north‐east Scotland

Cited by 33 publications

References 13 publications

Space use patterns of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on the Alps

Space use patterns of mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on the Alps

Camouflage mismatch in seasonal coat color due to decreased snow duration

Stem cell factor/c-Kit signalling in normal and androgenetic alopecia hair follicles

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