Question

A population of white rabbits and brown rabbits both live in a temperate deciduous forest where the summers are mild and average about 50°F. The winters are often below freezing. If warmer temperatures last longer into the fall and the average temperature in the winter is getting warmer, what do you expect to happen to the population of each color of rabbit?

Answer 1

Brown rabbits are suited for seasons when colors are similar to their skins (summer, spring, autumn and winters without snow) and white rabbits are best suited for seasons when colors are similar to their skins (winter with snow and sometimes spring).

If winters get warmer, there won't be snow, which would make life for rabbits difficult and decrease their population. But, it will make life for the brown rabbits easier since they will be able to get out in winter, without being easily spotted.

Hope it helped,

BioTeacher101

Answer 2

If my calculations are correct, the brown rabbit's fur turns white so they can camouflage in the snow and their body temperature heats up during the winter, so if the temperature during the winter is below i believe you will see more of white rabbits which means there is gonna be a lot of baby rabbits too because they'll be mating a lot too.

The Brown rabbits come out a lot during the spring/summer/fall time when the weather is warm, but I believe if the weather is too warm they will go into hiding find a place that can cool them down so the population for them is quite different then the white rabbit. So that is what i think.

Hope this helped :) Have a great day