Climate change may be lemmings' cliff

Canadian researchers say lemmings may be in danger of falling off the climate change "cliff."

The Wildlife Conservation Society says climate change could deprive the rodents of the snow they need for homes and lock up their food in ice.

"We need to know how climate change will affect a variety of resident and migratory predators that rely in large part on these small arctic rodents," WCS Canada researcher Don Reid said Friday in a release.

"The ability of lemmings to adapt to these changes will have a significant impact on the entire food web, so we need to understand more about lemming ecology within the context of climate change," he said.

Lemmings are an important prey species for a number of predators, from hawks to grizzly bears.

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