Data from: Scottish mountain hares do not respond behaviorally to camouflage mismatch

Climate change has resulted in myriad stressors to wild organisms.
Phenotypic plasticity, including behavioral plasticity, is hypothesized to
play a key role in allowing animals to cope with rapid climate change and
mitigate its negative fitness consequences. Camouflage mismatch resulting
from decreasing duration of snow cover presents a stressor to species that
undergo coat color molts to maintain camouflage against seasonally
changing backgrounds. Winter white animals appear highly conspicuous
against dark, snowless background and experience increased
predation-induced mortality. Here, we evaluate the potential of behavioral
plasticity to buffer against camouflage mismatch in mountain hares (Lepus
timidus) in Scotland. We carried out field surveys in three populations
over two years and found no evidence that hares modify their behaviors in
response to increasing camouflage mismatch. Hares did not prefer to rest
closer to light-colored rocks or farther from conspecifics with increasing
color contrast. Furthermore, whiter hares did not seek to rest closer to
snowy backgrounds; rather, hares preferred to sit farther from snow. These
results suggest that behavioral plasticity might not be a universal, rapid
mechanism facilitating adaptation to climate change.