What are the major biotic and abiotic factors of the snowshoe hare?

1. What would happen if the snowshoe hare disappeared?
2. What causes a snowshoe hare to change color?
3. How do snowshoe hares survive winter?
4. What eats a snowshoe hare?
5. Why are snowshoe hare keystone species?
6. Why are snowshoe hares called snowshoe hares?
7. How do snowshoe hares move?
8. What is the scientific name for snowshoe hare?
9. Do hares change Colour?
10. Do snowshoe hares live in groups?
11. Are snowshoe hares good eating?
12. Do snowshoe hares eat moss?
13. Where can I find snowshoe hares?
14. Is a snowshoe hare a primary consumer?

What would happen if the snowshoe hare disappeared?

The snowshoe hare is a critical species in the boreal forest: If it should disappear, many species of predators would go with it, and the structure of the plant community would be altered substantially.

What causes a snowshoe hare to change color?

Snowshoe hares are unique because their fur color changes with the seasons. The length of daylight triggers this change. In the spring, hares begin to shed their white winter coat in favor of the brown colors of summer. In the fall, the hares then shed their brown summer fur in preparation for the winter snow.

How do snowshoe hares survive winter?

They have large, furry feet that act as snowshoes for traveling on top of the snow. Their fur is thick to protect them from freezing temperatures. It also turns white in winter so that they are almost invisible in a snowy background. This helps them hide from predators.

What eats a snowshoe hare?

The relationship between snowshoe hares and their year-round predators including lynx, great-horned owls, and northern goshawks is well documented. These and other predators such as golden eagles depend on snowshoe hares as a food source early in the nesting season.

Why are snowshoe hare keystone species?

Snowshoe hare

Unlike most keystone species, snowshoe hares are prey for a lot of predators in the Canadian Boreal forests. ... It becomes a keystone species in its ecosystem because it holds the balance of the prey and the predator.

Why are snowshoe hares called snowshoe hares?

Snowshoe hares are named for their large hind feet, which, like snowshoes, allow them to stay on top of the snow during Canadian winters. The fur of snowshoe hares varies in colour depending on the season. In spring, summer and fall, they sport a coat of light to dark brown fur. In winter, their coats turn white.

How do snowshoe hares move?

Snowshoe hares have especially large, furry feet that help them to move atop snow in the winter. They also have a snow-white winter coat that turns brown when the snow melts each spring. It takes about ten weeks for the coat to completely change color.

What is the scientific name for snowshoe hare?

ABBREVIATION : LEAM COMMON NAMES : snowshoe hare varying hare snowshoe rabbit TAXONOMY : The currently accepted scientific name of the snowshoe hare is Lepus americanus Erxleben [18].

Do hares change Colour?

Depending on the season, their fur can be a different color. During the winter, snowshoe hares are white, which helps them blend in with the snow. When the seasons change to spring and summer, snowshoe hares turn a reddish-brown. This color helps them camouflage with dirt and rocks.

Do snowshoe hares live in groups?

Snowshoe hares are typically solitary, but they often live near many other hares, and individuals share overlapping home ranges. They are active at low light levels and so are most often seen out and about at dawn, dusk, and during the night.

Are snowshoe hares good eating?

Snowshoe hares are safe to eat as long as they're cooked, but rabbits can carry tularemia, bacteria passed on through internal organs, that can be contracted through open cuts and contact with infected tissues.

Do snowshoe hares eat moss?

Food can be scarce in the Arctic, but the hares survive by eating woody plants, mosses, and lichens which they may dig through the snow to find in winter. In other seasons they eat buds, berries, leaves, roots, and bark.

Where can I find snowshoe hares?

Look for snowshoes on cold, clear days on south-facing slopes, where they like to nap in the sun on the edge of thick cover. Snowshoes prefer conifer stands with dense undergrowth, but you can find them in a variety of forests with brushy ground cover.

Is a snowshoe hare a primary consumer?

Our primary consumers are ground squirrels, snowshoe hares, insects, and moose. Great horned owls, red foxes, wolves, lynx, and passerine birds are our secondary consumers.