Ground Squirrels, Microbes, and Hibernation

The name ground squirrel covers many types, but usually refers to those of medium size. Smaller versions like chipmunks and larger one like groundhogs are identified by their type. The whole lot is called the marmot tribe. Ground squirrels live...well, on the ground, hence the name. Those other bushy-tailed rodents make their homes in trees. When I complained that tree squirrels should be hibernating in winter instead of raiding the bird feeder, I was wrong about which kind: The ground squirrels tend to hibernate.

Ground squirrel, Flickr / Tambako The Jaguar (CC BY-ND 2.0)

By the way, true gophers are only distantly related to ground squirrels. Someone probably needed to know that.

If a human is confined to a bed for any significant amount of time, they lose quite a bit of muscle mass. However, those pesky rodents are six feet (1.83 m) under ground. In these parts, they hibernate from September to March. Shouldn't they lose quite a bit of muscle? It turns out that our Creator took that into account when he designed them: their microbiome takes care of things.

It seems not a week goes by that zoologists find yet another function of the designed microbiome.

Although it is difficult to define, the total collection of microscopic flora on the individual and in the gut (GI tract) is called the microbiome. Microbiota inhabit a variety of niches in the human body, with the gut being the primary location. This microbial colonization supports the digestion of complex nutritional components and activates anatomical changes of the intestine.

Recently, mammologists have discovered an important function in hibernating squirrels regarding their microbiome.

To read the rest of this short article, scurry on over to "Squirrel Gut Microbes and Hibernation."