Lawrence Journal World: A retired Kansas University distinguished professor has found that climate change has helped a population of yellow-bellied marmots in Colorado. Kenneth Armitage, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor, has been studying the rodent since 1962. Recently, warmer temperatures have allowed marmots to emerge from their hibernation earlier. Warmer temperatures mean earlier snowmelt, which means plants appear sooner, Armitage said. With more fat left from their hibernations, …