Solana traders and OnlyFans funds save 64-year marmot study

A 64-year study of yellow-bellied marmots in Gothic, Colorado continued after a lapse in federal funding when online donations covered an immediate shortfall. The National Science Foundation declined the team’s latest continuation request in late May, creating a gap for the current field season.

The study began in 1962 under Kenneth Armitage and has run every summer since. Researchers from UCLA and the University of Ottawa capture, weigh, tag and monitor individual marmots to record family lines, reproduction, health and survival across generations. The project’s leaders said missing a single season would break the continuous record that allows long-term comparisons.

Graduate student Emily Renkey created an account called OnlyMarms on a subscription platform, posting frequent field videos and accepting tips. The account brought in about $6,000 in gross tips during its first months before the platform collected a 20% fee; the team used that income for supplies and some staff time.

Separately, an outside group issued a memecoin on the Solana blockchain and set the token’s creator royalties to go to the marmot project. Token trading automatically generates small fees that are routed to a wallet controlled by the lab. The team reports more than $150,000 in creator-fee donations from the token; the contract address was added to the project’s fundraising page after the researchers accepted the payments.

The lab has used the cryptocurrency and tipping funds to pay field staff and cover supplies while it seeks more stable support. The researchers monitor marmots each summer to produce yearly population snapshots that feed the long-term dataset.

Daniel Blumstein of UCLA reported, “We monitored more than 160 animals before hibernation and found about 60 when we resumed.” He attributed most of the loss to low snow cover above burrows and said the multi-decade record allows comparison of body condition, kinship and weather across years.

Team members ran public engagement efforts, including a week-long online vote called Fat Marmot Week and frequent field updates that drew thousands of visitors. Those efforts helped convert online attention into short-term funding that allowed fieldwork to continue.

Researchers noted the income from token royalties and tips depends on continued public interest and trading activity. The team said it needs reliable, calendar-bound funding so trained staff can return each summer regardless of internet trends.