Do hibernating squirrels and marmots have better resistance to cold than other mammals, even before they enter hibernation? It seems like they would be too cold to sleep all winter.

Question Answered by Greg Burak, Biologist, Fish and Wildlife Service,  Boise Office That is a great question!  During hibernation, ground squirrels, such as the northern Idaho ground squirrel, enter long periods of time when they are inactive and sleeping.  This is called torpor.  While in torpor, the body temperature of a ground squirrel is about…

Do insects sleep?

Answered by Jessica Fultz, Entomologist, Idaho State University Nearly all insects go through cycles of activity and inactivity the most common being the 24 daily cycle; the circadian (around a day) cycle.  The circadian cycle is like an internal clock that is set by periods of dark and light.  When active, insects are looking for…

I noticed this week (October 8th), that though the water of the South Fork in the Ririe area is clear, there are huge clumps of algae in the water and covering the rocks. I’ve never noticed this much algae before. Is there a reason?

Question answered by Gregg Losinski, Environmental Science Educator This is a great question based on an interesting observation. Like many great questions, the answer may not be a simple one. Without knowing what exactly was being observed it is hard to give a definitive answer, but the potential answers are all possible. The most important…