An unconventional OnlyFans account is helping to fund long-term marmot research.
Credit: Laura Green, Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty
Daniel Blumstein, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), never expected to use OnlyFans to raise money for science. But in June, Blumstein and his research team published their first post on the platform, launching an unconventional fundraising campaign for long-term marmot research at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado.
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The RMBL marmot project has been studying yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) for more than 60 years. However, the Blumstein Research Group is facing growing financial pressure. Blumstein identifies three major challenges: delays in renewing the group’s National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, a shift in US research funding towards artificial intelligence, and increasing political pressure on universities, including UCLA.
Inspired by a television series in which a character turns to an explicit OnlyFans account for financial survival, Blumstein decided that the concept could be adapted to support wildlife science. The result was OnlyMarms, an account dedicated to marmot research and conservation.
Although marmots do not wear clothes, the account’s content is entirely family-friendly. Subscribers can watch remote-camera videos of marmots living in the wild, and the page has already received thousands of likes.
OnlyMarms is free to follow, with income generated entirely through viewer tips. Since its launch, the account has raised more than $4,000 and is currently receiving approximately $100 in donations each day.
Marmot meme coin helps fund wildlife research
The unusual fundraising campaign attracted international media attention, with coverage from The New York Times and BBC News. “I don’t think I really realized how widespread it would be,” says Emily Lenkie, a master’s student in the Blumstein lab who manages the account.
Within months of the account’s launch, members of the cryptocurrency community independently created the Solana-based $ONLYMARMS meme coin. Meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by internet culture and online trends. Transaction fees associated with the project have since exceeded $100,000, and Blumstein says the money will be directed towards marmot research.
The research group has also launched Fat Marmot Week, an online competition inspired by Fat Bear Week, which is organized by Katmai National Park in Alaska. Beginning on August 24, the tournament-style event allows the public to vote for the marmot they believe has prepared most successfully for hibernation. Donations to the marmot project and RMBL are encouraged.
A long-term study at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, is helping researchers understand how marmots respond to climate change.
Credit: Brian Booher
Despite the financial benefits, Blumstein says that OnlyMarms may be even more valuable as a science-communication tool. Since 1962, generations of researchers known as “marmotters” have worked on the Marmot Project at RMBL. They have tracked hundreds of yellow-bellied marmots in central Colorado, documenting where individual animals travel, how they behave and interact, and how their physiology, genetics and reproductive success change over time.
Because yellow-bellied marmots depend on seasonal snow and vegetation, they can provide important clues about how mountain wildlife responds to environmental change. The RMBL project is one of North America’s longest-running and most comprehensive wildlife studies, offering valuable insight into how animals adapt to a warming climate.
Source: www.nature.com