[Marmots of Europe: history and present condition. Les marmottes d'Europe : histoire et état actuel].

Résumé

Two marmot species - Marmota marmota and Marmota bobac - inhabit Europe now. The first species lives in Alps and in some other mount systems the second one in steppes of Russian Plain. These species are comparatively far from each other according to their phylogeny and probably appeared independently in Pleistocene. Different conditions during the period of species formation lead to more ecological )ability of M. bobac in compare with more conservative M. marmota. In the last centuries abundance and area of M. marmota decreased mainly due to straight anthropogenic influence. Any new adaptations were not observed. The regressive trend in this process, was turned into progressive one only because the organisation of marmot protection and reintroduction in some European states. In opposite M. bobac was able to adapt himself to the new conditions caused by anthropogenic transformation of habits because of ecological lability of population heritaged from ancestor and changes of priorities in using natural habits and familiarising with new specific ones. Therefore M. bobac was able to settle again in some parts of the past area by natural way. Re-introduction only completed this process. Comparative analysis of two species reintroduction results confirms the different of their ecological lability.