When they set up camera traps they found dozens of animals, such as foxes, wolves and birds of prey had approached the white toys, but none had shown interest in the brown versions.
研究人员布好相机陷阱后,他们发现狐狸、狼和食肉鸟等数十种动物都接近过白色玩具,但没有动物对棕色玩具表现出兴趣。
The authors say both findings suggest that the decrease in white-coated weasels is due to an increase in detection by predators in a less snowy environment.
作者称,这两项研究都表明,白鼬数量下降缘于在冰雪覆盖减少的环境中捕食者更容易发觉白鼬的存在。
The researchers are hopeful the animals will learn to adapt, but say they cannot rule out the animals vanishing entirely.
研究人员希望白鼬能学会适应环境,但也指出不能排除这种动物就此灭绝的可能性。
Weasels that do not change colour in the winter, are more likely to survive to pass on their brown-coated genes, increasing the numbers of the darker species.
那些在冬天不会变色的鼬鼠更可能生存下去,进而把褐毛基因传递给下一代,导致黄鼬数量增加。
Dr Zub added: “We should not underestimate the power of natural selection. We hope that along with future climate warming, autumn temperatures will also increase, providing an additional signal to the weasels to delay their moult.
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