What is called molting, when does it begin and how long does it last in pets. Brave inhabitants of the North, or what do lemmings eat in the tundra? The animal does not characteristically seasonal molt

26.10.2019

Lemmings are small rodents that live in the tundra and forest tundra of Eurasia and North America, as well as on the islands of the Arctic Ocean.

Let's try to consider all the details about these animals: what do lemmings eat in the tundra, how do they look, breed and live?

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Appearance

Lemmings look like hamsters:

They have a dense body, legs and tail are short, and small ears are hidden in the fur.
Lemming reaches 15 centimeters in length, and can weigh up to 70 grams.
The animal can be colored variegated or monochromatic (in gray-brown tones).
Lemmings often turn white in winter.

Diet

In the warm season, in the tundra, lemmings feed on shrubs, sedges and mosses.

In winter, rodents build their nests right under the snow. At this time of the year, they feed on the root parts of the remaining plants.

Often lemmings seriously eat away the surrounding flora. It is amazing that in a year one lemming is able to eat 50 kilograms of plants (that is, a rodent eats twice as much per day as it weighs itself).

Environment

Lemmings, in turn, feed on other animals - in particular: arctic fox, ermine, snowy owl, for which they are the basis of the diet.

In the tundra, these rodents are solitary, but some species of lemmings can cluster in nests in winter.

When a female lemming has offspring, she stays in one territory for some time, while the males wander in search of food.

Females reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 months, and males - at 2 months. Lemmings live up to two years. A female lemming can give birth to 5-6 cubs up to 6 times a year. And if lemmings eat well in the tundra in winter, then they will breed under the snow (and this is good, because the survival of other predators depends on the number of lemmings).

Legends and reality

There is a legend associated with lemmings that they commit suicide when the population increases greatly - this is a myth.

When there are too many lemmings, they eat poorly, which forces them to take desperate measures. Animals wander a lot: some drown while crossing rivers, others eat poisonous plants or die attacking larger animals.

As lemmings grow in number, so does the number of predators. However, if lemmings die en masse, then snowy owls stop laying eggs, and arctic foxes and ermines leave to hunt in the forests.

There are 7 species of lemmings living in Russia: forest, Norwegian, Siberian, Amur, ungulate and Vinogradov's lemming.

Lemmings are small animals similar to mice, the size of which reaches 10-13 cm. They have a variegated coat, sometimes with gray-brown stains.

The appearance of lemmings is very funny: having eaten enough, they noticeably get fat. In winter, their coat acquires a light color.

These animals are very voracious; in a day, an adult lemming eats twice as much as it weighs itself. Usually they feed all day, sometimes at night, destroying about 50 kilograms of vegetation per year.

Description of lemmings

There are small animals in the Arctic that have adapted to the harsh conditions of the Arctic and seem to feel quite comfortable - these are lemmings. Many Russians do not even know who they are, because they are almost never found in central Russia. Lemmings are small rodents from the hamster family. Outwardly, they resemble mice, although these are their very distant relatives.

Despite the cute appearance, these animals often show aggression, even towards their relatives. They like to dig separate minks, for which they can even fight with uninvited guests. By the way, when they see a person, lemmings, even having a very small size compared to him, contrary to logic, are not afraid, but begin to defend their territory. In the order of things - to hiss, and in some cases, to rush.

Habitat and lifestyle

Lemmings live in the arctic and subarctic tundra, ranging from the eastern coast of the White Sea in the west to the Bering Strait in the east - the northern regions of America, the islands of the Arctic Ocean, Franz Josef Land, on the Taimyr Peninsula. They prefer moss tundra, where dwarf birch and willow grow, stony tundra, slopes of watersheds, marshy peat and sedge-hummocky places, except for lichen tundra.

Lemmings are active all year round. They are herbivorous, feeding on various berries, shoots, roots and grains, and at the same time they are food for polar foxes, as well as for arctic foxes, buzzards and especially snowy owls, which prefer lemmings to any other prey.

Lemmings are solitary animals. Individual individuals secure certain areas for themselves and protect them from neighbors of their relatives. During periods of large livestock, they are a real disaster for agriculture in the northern regions. They make seasonal raids on pastures, where they eat away sedges, mosses, shrubs, which are necessary for feeding deer and other domestic animals.

For the winter, nests are built on the ground under the snow. At this time, they feed on the root parts of plants that they dig out from under the snow. They often store food for future use, arranging storage near their nest. In addition, they constantly crawl to the surface in search of food. This is especially evident in the dark. By the way, it is during the night feeding that lemmings become the prey of the snowy owl, which hunts only at night.

Types of lemmings

Several types of lemmings are common in our country: forest, Norwegian, Siberian, Amur, ungulate and Vinogradov's lemming. In general, they have only minor differences in color and body length. The largest of them are Vinogradov's lemmings, they reach 17 cm - these are the largest of all small rodents.

forest lemming(Myopus schisticolor) - has a body size of about 8-13 cm; weight up to 45 g. Color black-gray, with brown spots on the back. It lives in the taiga from Scandinavia to Kamchatka. Prefers coniferous and mixed forests with abundant moss. It feeds mainly on mosses, berries and roots. Burrows in moss tussocks, among tree roots, or among stones covered with moss. Females bring cubs twice a year for 4-6 pcs. Live 1-2 years.

norwegian leming(Lemmus lemmus). Size up to 15 cm. The color is variegated, along the back there is a yellow-brown black stripe. It lives in the mountain tundra in Scandinavia and on the Kola Peninsula. Burrow does not dig, usually settles in natural shelters under the roots of trees, among stones and moss tussocks. Feeds on reindeer moss, sedge, cereals, berries. The female brings up to 7 cubs in 3-4 litters.

Siberian lemming(Lemmus sibiricus). Body length up to 16 cm, weight up to 130 g. Color yellow, black stripe along the back; does not change color in winter. It lives in the tundra of Russia from the Northern Dvina to the Kolyma and on the islands of the Arctic Ocean. It feeds on mosses, sedges and cotton grasses. In winter, branches and roots of tundra shrubs. In winter, it lives under the snow, in nests that it makes from leaves and branches. During the year, the female brings 4-5 litters, each with up to 12 cubs. It is the main prey for arctic fox, ermine, snowy owl. Carrier of pseudotuberculosis and hemorrhagic fever.

Amur lemming(Lemmus amurensis). Length up to 120 mm. In summer, the color is brown with a black stripe along the back. Winter long fur of brown color, with a gray bloom, a dark stripe on the back fades or completely disappears. It reproduces in the same way as the Siberian lemming.

ungulate lemming(Dicrostonyx torquatus). The body length reaches 14 cm. In winter, the middle claws of the front paws grow and take the form of a hoof. Hence its name. Ash-gray color in summer, with red tan marks on the sides and head, in winter a lighter color. The belly is gray, along the back there is a black stripe, on the neck there is a light “collar”.

Lemming Vinogradova(Dicrostonyx vinogradovi). It is named after the zoologist B.S. Vinogradov, who discovered this species on Wrangel Island. Where he still lives. Found on nearby islands. It is the largest of the rodents. The length of the bodies reaches 170 mm. It feeds on grass and shrubs. For the winter makes large stocks of branches for food. Digs large and complex burrows-towns. The female brings up to 3 litters per year, 5-6 cubs. Her pregnancy lasts 20 days. Cubs begin to see clearly in 10-12 days, and in two weeks burrows crawl out.

Lemming breeding

Lemmings are solitary animals and therefore differ in some degree of misanthropy in character, the reproduction of lemmings is a rather peculiar process. Since these animals do not create families, in fact their intersexual communication ends with the very fact of fertilization by males of females. After that, the females are left alone, looking for food for themselves. The number of cubs is 5-6 pieces in a litter, while they become pregnant every two months. And this is not surprising, given that their life expectancy averages from 1.5 to 2 years. After the birth of the cubs, the females begin to guard even more actively and, if necessary, protect the territory of their habitat. During breeding periods, females are usually in one place, and males are in constant search of an individual of the opposite sex for the purpose of reproduction.

Pregnancy in a female lasts 20-22 days. For one lamb, she brings a different number of cubs. It depends on the feeding conditions: when there is plenty of food, there are more cubs in the litter, in a hungry year - less. Young lemmings participate in reproduction even before full development. Lemming females are already pregnant at the age of 3 months. Such fecundity of lemmings makes them the most numerous individual in the Arctic.

Lemmings self-destruct

Usually lemmings feed for a long time in one territory. However, in favorable years, when with long summers and warm winters there is plenty of food, a process of increased reproduction of lemmings occurs. The number of lemmings increases so much that there is not enough food for everyone, there is a shortage of food and the animals begin to migrate. There comes a moment when this migration turns into their mass resettlement. Mostly juveniles migrate. Together they leave their native places and rush in some direction. Paying no attention to anything, the live mass of lemmings moves through fields, mountains, settlements, until it hits a water barrier, be it a river, lake or seashore. Lemmings jump into the water and swim. At the same time, a significant part of them drown when trying to cross.

During such periods, a real feast for predators begins in the places of their crossing. On land they are chased by arctic foxes, foxes, owls, buzzards. Sled dogs do not disdain such food, and sometimes they are even eaten by reindeer. In the water, the corpses of drowned lemmings at such moments cover the water surface. They are eaten by seagulls, predatory fish and marine animals. Due to such migratory processes, the population of lemmings is greatly reduced, and in subsequent years they become rare. Usually, after 3-4 years, the number of individuals comes to the usual level and remains until a new outbreak of mass reproduction. Thus, lemmings self-destruct, and their numbers are periodically regulated naturally in accordance with the possibilities of food sufficiency for the entire livestock.

Since lemmings are mass animals, they form the basis of the diet of many predators of the North. These are arctic foxes, and polar owls, and peregrine falcons, and gyrfalcons. During mass migrations, lemmings become easy prey and everyone starts to hunt them. Wolves, crows, gulls, skuas, bears, and sometimes even completely peaceful geese and reindeer feed on lemmings! Oddly enough, herbivorous geese and reindeer thus make up for the lack of protein in the body.

During such periods, all these animals prefer lemmings to other prey species, even their fecundity is closely related to the number of lemmings in a given season. The periodic decline in the number of lemmings becomes a decline in the birth rate of the main predators of the North, since they also bring fewer offspring during this period. So, in a natural way, there is a regulation not only of the population of lemmings, but also of other animals.

Wool is an indicator of a dog's well-being. Thick and shiny - indicates excellent health, dull and thinning - signals a malfunction in the pet's body.

"Planned" molting

All dog breeders are ready for it, observing the seasonal change of undercoat and coat in spring / autumn. This is a natural process that takes 1-2 weeks in short-haired dogs (with regular combing) and a little more in animals with a thick undercoat and long hair.

It is interesting! The first molt begins at different times, but, as a rule, it is associated with the time of year and appears no earlier than the quadruped is 6 months old.

Seasonal shedding is a predictable event, the consequences of which are easy to deal with: you need to comb your dog more often, if necessary, visit the dog hairdresser and clean up the apartment every day.

"Unscheduled" molting

If the wool began to fall out in frightening quantities, and it’s not spring or autumn outside, head to the veterinarian. He will make a qualified diagnosis and determine the treatment algorithm.

The most common causes of out-of-season molting are:

Look for insects and signs of their presence, which can be redness, swelling, bite marks (dots), black grains and scratches. A dark coating in the auricles may suggest that an ear mite has settled there. Clean your ears and apply mites.

Important! Also check the dog mat, and if you suspect something is wrong, change it to a new one.

Skin diseases

You can run into eczema by washing your furry dog around and around. A dense, wet undercoat that does not have time to recover will easily provoke this serious disease, which will give impetus to an out-of-season molt.

The cause of dermatitis and similar ailments leading to severe hair loss can be low-quality dog cosmetics (shampoo and conditioners).

A good owner is obliged to be alert when he feels an unusual smell from the pet, which will tell about violations in the activity of the skin glands.

Allergy

It is usually supplemented by concomitant symptoms: anxiety, redness of the eyes, itching, discharge from the nose and eyes, rarely salivation.

Do quite a healthy dog can suddenly like unfamiliar food, and on any provoking factor, including plant pollen, poplar fluff and dirty air.

If you recently gave your dog some new item (bowl, clothes, rug), replace them with others and look at the reaction of the animal.

Stress

Unexplained hair loss is often associated with psychological discomfort. A dog's feelings can be caused by anything - your anger, a street dog fight, a move, pregnancy, participation in an exhibition, an injury, an operation, or another stressful event.

Shedding on nerves does not differ in intensity and passes in three days.

Malnutrition

It is it that is quite capable of acting as a catalyst for unexpected hair loss. Elite factory feeds are beyond suspicion, but economy-class dry foods are the main enemies of healthy dog fur.

In cheap drying, there is a lot of salt and no vitamins, which are necessarily added to high-quality products. And if the pet is prone to allergies, look for packages with the inscription or “holistic”.

Skin and coat need vitamin nourishment from the inside.

Important! If your dog eats only natural foods, mix vitamin and mineral supplements into his meals from time to time.

Hair care

You can’t do without it both with seasonal and with a sudden molt. Get something that will help you maintain a healthy coat:

protein shampoo;
dry conditioners (improving the structure of the hairs and nourishing them);
Nickel-plated combs to remove tangles;
slicker brushes for delicate hair removal;
a brush-glove that easily collects hairs;
a furminator that can replace the entire arsenal of dog combs.

If you make it a rule to comb out the hair that falls out every day, it will not fly all over the apartment, clinging to the owner's clothes and settling on furniture.

The combing procedure will become less laborious if the preparatory stage is observed: before proceeding with it, cover the floor with newspaper or polyethylene.

Menu when shedding

It should be special, preferably with an emphasis on natural food with a large dose of proteins.. It is protein that is responsible for a healthy and beautiful dog coat.

meat, with the exception of pork;
chicken liver and hearts;
sea fish (without bones);
boiled and raw vegetables;
porridge.

Important! And by all means, put some fish oil in your dog's food, as well as supplements with vitamin B, copper and zinc, which stimulate hair growth.

Hair loss fight

It is carried out if the molt is not burdened by side symptoms - poor appetite, nervous behavior, high body temperature and others.

Put your pet on a diet or change food without ignoring vitamin and mineral complexes.

Measure the humidity and air temperature in the house: at + 25 ° and above, molting can be considered a natural phenomenon. Negative factors include low humidity (less than 40%). The way out is to regulate the temperature with the help of thermostats, systematically ventilate the apartment, install an air humidifier.

Walk more often, taking your pet into the yard 2-3 times a day, regardless of the weather. Moderate cooling can stop the molt. But do not overdo it so that the dog does not catch a cold.

And ... save your dog's nerves. As you know, all diseases occur on a nervous basis, and untimely molting is no exception.

SHELTER SHOT

periodic change of outer skin and decomp. their formations (cuticles, scales, wool, feathers, etc.) in animals. It can be age (passes in the first months of life), seasonal (in certain seasons of the year) and constant (throughout the year). L.'s offensive depends on a stage of development, age, a hormonal state of an organism, and also from conditions external. environment - temperature, photoperiod and other factors. invertebrates L. (age L. is typical in the main for arthropods) is in periodic. shedding of the old cuticular cover by the larva and replacing it with a new one. It is regulated by hormones - ecdysones, juvenile, cerebral and sinus glands. L. provides the ability to change the shape and increase the size of the animal's body, which grows until the newly formed cover (exoskeleton) becomes tight and begins to inhibit growth, then the animal molts again. In insects, the number of L. varies from 3 (flies) or 4-5 (multiple orthopterans, bugs, butterflies, etc.) to 25-30 (mayflies, stoneflies). Vertebrates L. is associated with adaptation to certain seasons of the year, restoration of wearing out covers. Regulated by endocrine hormones. In amphibians and reptiles, L. consists in the shedding and renewal of the upper keratinized layer of the skin and occurs throughout the summer, and their frequency (from 2 to 6) depends on the temperature of the environment. In amphibians, lizards, and snakes, L. covers all parts of the body at the same time (in snakes, the upper keratinized layer of the skin - crawling out - comes off entirely). In crocodiles and turtles, L. is partial (in turtles, parts of the body that are not covered with a shell molt). Birds shed feathers, as well as horn formations on the legs and beak. The beginning of L. in many. birds is associated with a change in the length of daylight hours; moreover, usually the terms of L., reproduction and migration are separated. in time. L.'s types are various. So, when leaving the egg, the chick is dressed in embryonic fluff, which is replaced by the so-called. nesting plumage of contour feathers, then complete or partial post-breeding L. The change of all feathers usually takes place by the end of summer, when the beautiful breeding plumage is replaced by a less bright winter plumage. In some groups (Anseriformes, Shepherds, Cranes, etc.), along with covering feathers, tail and fly feathers fall out, as a result of which the bird loses its ability to fly (for example, duck - for 20-35 days, swans - almost 1, 5 months). Sedentary small birds in winter plumage have more feathers than in summer, which provides better thermal insulation in winter (for example, siskins have 2100-2400 feathers in winter, and about 1500 in summer). In mammals, age-related and seasonal hair loss is accompanied by a change in hair (for example, the soft hair of a young individual is replaced by a coarser adult animal), a change in its density (more than doubles in winter) and color. In typical shrews (mole, mole rat), the hairline to-rykh wears out quickly, except for seasonal, it happens - permanent, so-called. compensatory, L., contributing to the restoration of hairline. Animals living in conditions with a sharp change in cold winters and hot summers molt quickly, the inhabitants of the tropics and semi-aquatic animals (muskrat, nutria, sea otter) - gradually. Most mammals molt twice a year - in spring and autumn, some animals (eg, seals, marmots, ground squirrels, jerboas) - once.

.(Source: "Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary." Chief editor M. S. Gilyarov; Editorial board: A. A. Babaev, G. G. Vinberg, G. A. Zavarzin and others - 2nd ed., corrected . - M .: Sov. Encyclopedia, 1986.)

molt

Periodic change of outer covers (chitinous, cuticular, scaly, plumage and wool) in animals. Characteristic of arthropods and terrestrial vertebrates. It happens permanent, seasonal and age. Permanent molting occurs throughout the year, seasonal - in certain seasons, age - more often at an early stage of the animal's life. The onset of molting depends on internal (age, stage of development, physiological state, etc.) and external (temperature and humidity, daylight hours, etc.) factors. The molting process is regulated by hormones.
Ch is characteristic of arthropods. arr. age molting, in which the old cuticular cover is shed and for a short time of increased body growth is replaced by a new, extensible one. In various insects, from 3 to 25-30 age molts can occur.
In vertebrates, molting can be seasonal or permanent, the so-called. compensatory, associated with the restoration of constantly wearing out integuments of the body (for example, in a mole, whose hairline quickly wears out due to a burrowing lifestyle). Amphibians and reptiles shed the upper stratum corneum throughout the summer (from 2 to 6 times), depending on the temperature of the habitat. The molting of snakes is peculiar: the surface layer of the skin, having begun to separate on the jaws, gradually disappears entirely, turning inside out, forming the so-called. creep out. The transparent fused eyelids are also replaced. In lizards, molting proceeds in parts, patches. In turtles, molting occurs in places free from the shell.
In birds, molting can occur 2 or 3 times a year, which is associated with seasonal polymorphism and the change of nuptial attire to winter plumage and vice versa. Some birds molt gradually, without losing the ability to fly. Others, mainly inhabitants of the forest and shrubs from the fam. chickens, shed old feathers quickly, so during the molting period they cannot fly and hide in thickets. Ducks, geese, swans, loons and shepherds lose all flight feathers on the wings and tail feathers, and therefore for quite a long time (up to 1-1.5 months) they are not capable of flying. At this time, they usually gather in huge flocks in remote, hard-to-reach places. In birds, during molting, the structure and number of feathers change: by winter, their number and density increase by about 1.5 times, and the downy layer increases.
Mammals molt 1-2 times a year, while one hairline is replaced by another, for example. winter - summer and vice versa; soft hair of cubs - a coarser coat, characteristic of adults. The rate of molting directly depends on the rate of change from cold winter to hot summer.

.(Source: "Biology. Modern Illustrated Encyclopedia." Editor-in-Chief A.P. Gorkin; M.: Rosmen, 2006.)

Synonyms:

See what "LINKA" is in other dictionaries:

MOLTING, the process of shedding and replacing the outer layers of the body's integument. Mammals shed their outer layers of skin and hair, often during certain seasons of the year. A person does not shed, however, constantly sheds dead dry ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

LINKA, molts, pl. no, female (specialist.). Same as shedding. The molt of the beast. Autumn molt. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Ex. fading Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Context 5.0 Informatics. 2012. moulting n., number of synonyms: 2 shedding (3) ... Synonym dictionary

Periodic change of outer covers (chitin, wool, and plumage) in animals. Shedding is regulated by hormones... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

SHED (yayu, yaesh, 1 and 2 l. do not use), yat; nesov. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

SHELTING- periodic change of hair in mammals, feathers and horn formations in birds, upper keratinized skin layer in reptiles and cuticular cover in arthropods. Ecological encyclopedic dictionary. Chisinau: Home… … Ecological dictionary

SHELTING- LINKA, see Epidermis ... Big Medical Encyclopedia

molt- Periodic change of external covers in animals; can be age, seasonal and permanent; in invertebrates, L., as a rule, is associated with the stages of individual development, and in vertebrates with adaptability to external conditions. [Arefiev V… Technical Translator's Handbook

SHELTING- seasonal change of hairline. At l. covering hair is replaced twice a year in spring and autumn. During L. behind l skin. care especially carefully, carefully clean it, removing falling hair ... Handbook of horse breeding

A wolf in the molting stage (Moscow Zoo, June). Moulting is a process of changing the integument of animals, which has a diverse character. Among invertebrates, a typical tench ... Wikipedia

Since, according to molecular phylogenetics, these groups are related to each other, they have recently been united under the name Ecdysosoa- Shedding. In these groups, molting is reduced to periodic shedding and change of the cuticle. Before molting, the inner layers of the old cuticle dissolve, and below it, hypodermal cells secrete a new cuticle. After a molt, the animal rapidly increases in size (usually by absorbing water or "puffing up" with air) until the new cuticle hardens, after which growth stops until the next molt (periodic growth).

Nematodes molt larvae (usually there are four larval stages), adult nematodes do not grow and do not molt. In most groups of arthropods (crustaceans, spiders, etc.), molting and growth continue throughout life.

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