Question

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L. Scott Mills and his colleagues examined the seasonal coat color change in snowshoe hares. Snowshoe hares are typically brown in the summer and white in the winter. They argue that a mismatch between coat color and the environment can be a big problem for these important prey animals. Answer each question in 2-6 sentences (not only "Yes" or "No" - provide examples/arguments supporting your response). Always write in your own words. 1. What is a phenological mismatch? 2. Which components of snowshoe hare coat color change were plastic in the study? Which were not? Describe with reference to Figure 4. 3. Did male and female snowshoe hares express the same plasticity pattern? Speculate why this might be the case. 4. Why did Mills and his colleagues examine climate projections? 5. Will snowshoe hares be able to alter their seasonal coat color change if the climate changes? What drives local adaptations? Speculate about two alternative trajectories.

Answer 1

The difference between winter-brown hares and winter-white was not found to be a product of a recent mutation, but it is the introduction of genetic material from another species like the black-tailed jackrabbit, which does not change its colour. As autumn days grow shorter and colder, many of the hares shed their brown fur for coats of bright white, which provides camouflage in their snowy wintertime habitats. However, while white-winter hares predominate, in areas where winter snow is less extensive some hares remain brown year-round.

Because Most snowshoe hares, change color to cope with the changes in their environment over the course of the year, change their colour to match the season.