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By April Craighead, Wildlife Biologist Craighead Institute
www.craigheadresearch.org
As the climate heats up, what’s a pika to do? Due to their sensitivity to heat, pikas make a great indicator species to record changes in the environment. As overall temperatures warm, pikas have few options but to either relocate to elevations that are cooler typically upslope or perish. Researchers in the United States are beginning to see both of these scenarios happen with pika populations moving 150 meters (492 feet) upslope or dying out completely. Due to these findings, the American pika was petitioned to be listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2009. This listing was denied in 2010 based in part on limited distributional data and lack of under talus temperatures.
In light of this ruling there has been an increase in research on the American pika in the western United States. The results from these studies will hopefully better identify pika distribution, genetics, habitat, areas of refugia and vulnerabilities that pikas will face as the climate warms. Ultimately the results from all of this research will allow wildlife managers to make better management decisions when it comes to pikas and climate change in the future.
At the Craighead Institute we are working on a variety of pika projects in areas of Montana and Wyoming. Our programs include basic research and public outreach. We conduct research to identify pika habitat, determine the existence and longevity of historic pika locations and determine changes in plant communities at a long-term study site. We also engage the public in a citizen science program to record pika locations in Montana. While we are only working on small pieces of the very complex pika puzzle, the hope is that our research findings along with other researchers may help the pika survive into the next century.
In the end, the plight of the pika and climate change is closely entwined with the fate of humans. It is important to remember that many of these high elevation environments are also important sources of snowpack that provide water to humans and other wildlife downstream in late summer. As temperatures rise and snowpack levels change we humans will be feeling the heat as well. Understanding how pikas will adapt to climate change will directly relate to understanding how humans will adapt as well.
I was recently struck with the thought of what losing the pika might mean to the wild places we as humans so cherish. I was working at a site that at one time had been very active with pikas; I could see the remains of their haypiles and detect much pika sign. However on this day, I only saw one pika and heard only one other and I couldn’t stop asking myself why that was. Are we beginning to see changes in pika populations in Montana due to climate change? What will the future hold for pikas? What will the future hold for wild places? A place that had once been vibrant with pika activity and life was suddenly very lonely and far too quiet. As I made the long hike out, I hoped that this was not the fate for many of our wildlife species in the last best places.
For more information about pikas, our pika programs or the Craighead Institute, please visit:
www.craigheadinstitute.org.
Photo: Becca Barkley
KNOWLEDGE
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