Modern Himalayan marmot faeces analyses: Implications for palaeodietary, palaeoecological, and palaeoclimate analysis
5 affiliations
- 1Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
- 2Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India.
- 3Department of Earth Science, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, United States of America.
- 4School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
- 5Department of Geology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Abstract
Pollen and nutrient analyses of the faeces of the Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) were made to understand its preferred dietary plants and ecology. Pollen preserved in the faeces accurately reflected its diet as a mixed feeder including Artemisia, Caryophyllaceae, Asteroideae, and Ephedra, characteristic plants of the Alpine steppe vegetation under a cold and arid climate in the higher Himalaya. Pollen ratio values between Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia/Cyperaceae, and Artemisia/Ephedra are identified from the Pensilla Pass and Rimkhim regions, as useful tools that characterize the Alpine steppe vegetation and climate in the higher Himalaya. Principal Component Analysis of the pollen taxa indicated only a slight difference in the relative abundance between the two localities sampled, Pensila Pass and Rimkhim areas. Coprophilous fungal spores, Sporormiella and Saccobolus, were abundant and considered useful for understanding the interrelationship between vegetation and the marmot’s preferred habitat. Fifteen nutritional elements were recorded, and the high concentration of carbon, nitrogen, calcium, silicon, and, phosphorous is considered significant with a direct dietary relationship with the preferred plants consumed. This study provides a modern analogue and a baseline for coprolite and palaeoecological analyses in marmot inhabited regions and to observe the species future response to vegetation and climate change resulting shifts in altitude in the higher Himalaya.
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BibTeX
@article{basumatary2026modern,
title = {{Modern Himalayan marmot faeces analyses: Implications for palaeodietary, palaeoecological, and palaeoclimate analysis}},
author = {Sadhan K Basumatary and Hukam Singh and Manish Mehta and Swati Tripathi and Mahesh G Thakkar and H Gregory McDonald and Eline N van Asperen and Vinit Kumar},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358642},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358642},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Modern Himalayan marmot faeces analyses: Implications for palaeodietary, palaeoecological, and palaeoclimate analysis
AU - Sadhan K Basumatary
AU - Hukam Singh
AU - Manish Mehta
AU - Swati Tripathi
AU - Mahesh G Thakkar
AU - H Gregory McDonald
AU - Eline N van Asperen
AU - Vinit Kumar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358642
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358642
AB - Pollen and nutrient analyses of the faeces of the Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana) were made to understand its preferred dietary plants and ecology. Pollen preserved in the faeces accurately reflected its diet as a mixed feeder including Artemisia, Caryophyllaceae, Asteroideae, and Ephedra, characteristic plants of the Alpine steppe vegetation under a cold and arid climate in the higher Himalaya. Pollen ratio values between Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia/Cyperaceae, and Artemisia/Ephedra are identified from the Pensilla Pass and Rimkhim regions, as useful tools that characterize the Alpine steppe vegetation and climate in the higher Himalaya. Principal Component Analysis of the pollen taxa indicated only a slight difference in the relative abundance between the two localities sampled, Pensila Pass and Rimkhim areas. Coprophilous fungal spores, Sporormiella and Saccobolus, were abundant and considered useful for understanding the interrelationship between vegetation and the marmot’s preferred habitat. Fifteen nutritional elements were recorded, and the high concentration of carbon, nitrogen, calcium, silicon, and, phosphorous is considered significant with a direct dietary relationship with the preferred plants consumed. This study provides a modern analogue and a baseline for coprolite and palaeoecological analyses in marmot inhabited regions and to observe the species future response to vegetation and climate change resulting shifts in altitude in the higher Himalaya.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -