User:Earth sunshine goddess/sandbox

Article evaluation

I evaluated the Chipmunk article . I found the information to be relevant and neutral. Most of the citations have links that take you directly to sources used. One claim was supported by a citation followed by, "not in citation given" with information about what the source actually stated. I followed this citation and found the that the information stated was not in the citation as marked. I found that another claim about chipmunks as predators on mountain bluebirds where the information seems inferred from the cited source. There are reliable references that state that chipmunks are predators on eggs and nest with more direct examples that could be cited here. This article is part of WikiProject Mammals and Rodents rated as a C-class article of high importance. I think that a general description of chipmunks could be added as the article lead says they are striped rodents but the thirteen lined squirrel is striped but not a chipmunk. Chipmunk's have a distinct stripping that differs from other ground squirrels according to some of the source links I followed. The talk page has discussed some issues with photos used and identification of the species in the photos. Also some updates where made following a discussion of the diet section that seems good now. The talk page also mention adding activity on college campuses and chipmunks as pest and pest control. I have seen topics of human interaction and pest control on other rodent pages. This group of mammals is discussed in a generalized fashion compared to class where we will discuss skull morphology and dentition.

Searching for Potential Topics

Attempts to find a mammal species article to create or improve included looking at WikiProject Mammals. The training "Finding an Article" lead me to look at list of Mammal Stub and Mammal Start articles. These were listed alphabetically, and I began by trying the links in order. This lead to many articles that were fairly complete. I looked at countless Talk pages and began to search for sources based on the needs of the articles. I could not find reliable sources for the areas needing work. I looked at WikiProject Mammals/Missing mammal species and NA-importance mammal articles. These were as overwhelming as the Stub/Start lists. I tried to narrow my range by looking at other WikiProjects, including Cats, Equine, Monotremes and Marsupials, Rodents, and Bats. I searched articles by high to low importance within Stub or Start articles. I did journal and book searches and found little to no references for many species pages. I decided to take a different approach and spent hours at the library looking through the mammal section to see if I could find a good amount of references on a particular species. I found a good amount of information on some groups (i.e. genus or family), but very little all pertaining to one species. I looked at the start articles for Hyrax and found I might be able to add a bit of information to this article but not significantly. I don't have a very extensive knowledge on many species of mammals, so I decided to look into some animals that I would like to know more about. I started looking at Marmots. I found that I could possible add a bit of information to the Marmot article but not significantly either. I started focusing on rodents because I had found some books in the library pertaining to rodents or small mammal biology. I started developing a list of start/stub articles ranging from low to high importance that I could find resources for adding or editing the articles. These includes Squirrel, Porcupine, Tree Squirrel, Ground Squirrel. I started looking into species in these groups and also Gophers, Marmot, and Skunks (because I have been seeing a lot DOR). I began to look for sources for the following species: American Red Squirrel, Fox Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk , Douglas Squirrel, Mearn's Squirrel , Western spotted skunk, and Eastern spotted skunk. I found enough sources that I might be able to add a little bit to some of these articles, but this seemed like a lot of work to figure out what little bit I could add to each on so many articles. This is when I found the Pine Squirrel page needed a lot more added. I found a good amount of information on this group in one a few books in the library but they were older sources. I started searching for more recent sources through journals or books from other libraries. I continued to do searches for additional species that I may find more sources on to add a substantial amount of information to. Finally, I found the following articles that were low (one mid) importance stub articles that had only a few sentences: Gray marmot, Allen's squirrel, and Calabrian black squirrell, the last of which used to be a subspecies of the European red squirrel. I began to look for sources on each. I found a book that had some information on the 2 squirrels, and I found a handful of journal articles on the Gray marmot. Now I have narrowed down my best potential articles to write or add to. Finding a species mammal article to write or add to with available reliable sources has been a challenge and taken a lot of search time. I am continuing to search for more sources for the potential article choices, focusing on the Gray Marmot as a species article to write.

Topic Choice(s)

The top choice for writing a mammal species article is the Gray Marmot. This species is a low importance stub article, but only has 3 sentences. I have found 4 journal articles about the species, and 2 are recent (2010 and 2014) so the species is notable. In the event that sources for the Gray Marmot are not sufficient for a full article, I can add information to the Pine Squirrel article. I have ordered some books that may or may not allow me to contribute to the other squirrel species articles above.

Grey Marmot Article Draft

The gray marmot, grey marmot, or Altai marmot (Marmota baibacina) is a species of rodent in the squirrel family Sciuridae. It is one of the larger marmots in the genus Marmota. It occurs in mountainous grasslands and shrub lands of central Asia, and is one of the 9 Palearctic (Eurasia) species. Gray marmots form social groups, live in burrows, and hibernate.

Description

Gray marmots are one of the largest palearctic species, weighing 4 to 6.5 kg, with some individuals reaching near 8 kg before hibernation. Body size varies based on the time of year (before/after hibernation), and with latitude and elevation. Overall, body size increases at higher latitude and elevation and decreases at lower latitudes and elevation. Gray marmots may loose up to 30% of body mass during long seasonal hibernation. They are short and stocky with brawny limbs and short tails. The total body length ranges from about 60 to 80 cm which includes the 13 to 15 cm long tail. Forefeet have 4 digits and strong claws for digging, while the hindfeet have 5 digits. On the dorsal (back) side, the fur is beige to tan with brown to black hairs or hair tips blended throughout giving the coat a gray appearance. The ventral (belly) side is a more orange-reddish brown. The length of the tail is much like the body but has a dark brown to black tip. The ears are small and round and light colored. The face is darker brown at the cheeks with lighter yellowish brown around the mouth. Albinism occurs in this species. Gray marmots are not know to exhibit sexual dimorphism (differences between males and females), but in most marmot species the adult males are larger than adult females. Gray marmots also have cheek glands and anal glands

Distribution and Habitat

Gray marmots live in mountain meadows and steppes, where they forage on sage bush in the spring, grasses and flowering plants in summer and fall. They occur in elevations from 150 to 4000 meters, but may prefer mild to moderate well draining slopes with suitable soil for burrowing. The soil ranges from fine grained soft soil to soil including sand or pebbles. Their distribution extends from the Altai mountains of southwestern Siberia (Tuva, Russia), western Mongolia, northwestern China (Xinjiang), and eastern Kazakhstan, into the Tien Shan mountains of northwestern China, Kyrgyzstan, and southeastern Kazakhstan. In southeastern Kazakhstan and southwestern Siberia the range enters lower elevation, dry steppes. The gray marmot is an introduced species in the Caucasus mountains of Dagestan, Russia. In the Altai mountains of western Mongolia, the range overlaps with the Tarbagan marmot (Marmota sibirica). In this area of range overlap, competition restricts the gray marmot habitat to elevations above 3000 meters in areas with scattered boulders and rocks. Observation of hybridization between the two species and living in the same area are rare.

Life History and Behavior

Sociality

Gray marmots live in social groups called extended families with multiple individuals living in a burrow and several burrows forming a colony. The extended families usually consist of a pair of dominant adults and a few subordinate adults, yearling and babies. Gray marmots also have species specific alarm calls, which can be used to distinguish them from other species. When environmental conditions are harsh extended families are limited. When conditions are moderate to good the extended families become more complex.

Hibernation

Gray marmots live in harsh environments with snowfall limiting food for a significant amount of time. They have evolved a yearly pattern of hibernation, reproduction, growth and then fattening for the next hibernation. Gray marmots hibernate for 7-8 months starting in fall and emerging in May. Hibernation starts between August to October depending on the location of the population, and populations at lower altitude or on south facing slopes emerge sooner.

Burrows

Gray marmots dig extensive winter burrows for hibernation, reaching depths of 5-7 meters with some tunnels up to 63 meters long. Winter burrows hold 10 or more individuals which helps them stay warm with less energy use. Summer burrows are less deep and hold only a few individuals.

Reproduction

Gray marmots mate in early May, and often mate in burrows before they emerge from hibernation. Mating may be monogamous or polyandrous. Gestation last 40 days and the female gives birth to 2-6 babies. Females reach reproductive maturity at 2-3 years. Females alternate years of reproduction, and reabsorb embryos in harsh environmental conditions.

Predators

Predators of gray marmots include wolves, foxes, dogs, polecats, Pallas's cat, and predator birds such as hawks and falcons. Gray marmots use alarm calls to warn family members of predator presence.

Communication

Gray marmots have anal and cheek glands used for communication of dominance and possibly defense. They use tail movements as visual cues, and various vocalizations such a growls, high pitched cries, whining and alarm calls.

Taxonomy

The gray marmot is a palearctic species in the subgenus Marmota. It is most related to the forest-steppe marmot (Marmota kastschenkoi), which was considered a subspecies of the gray marmot until recently recognized a distinct species. The bobak marmot (Marmota bobak) is a sister group to these species and the lineage the gray marmot is thought to evolve from. The gray marmot has two recognized subspecies Marmota baibacina baibacina and Marmota baibacina centralis.