Specifically, National Park Service staff and academic researchers assessed the pika's vulnerability to different climate change scenarios for the western United States. Not only was this decision a loss for the American Pika, it also was a blow to the greater cause of using the Endangered Species Act to help curtail actions contributing to climate change, and thereby protect many other species that are threatened by climate change.Īlthough the failure to get the pika listed was a setback in protection of the species, the National Park Service has undertook a research project, "Pikas in Peril", to learn more about the pika's current and future status in national parks such as Crater Lake. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists denied the listing, stating that the pika can tolerate a wider range of temperature and precipitation conditions than previously thought, and therefore is not presently or in the foreseeable future, threatened by climate change (the Fish and Wildlife Service did not take into account climate change effects past 2050). Fish and Wildlife Service to list the American Pika as threatened by climate change under the Endangered Species Act. In 2007, Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. While some pikas may be able to migrate further upslope, as temperatures rise many pikas will have nowhere to go. Temperature increases will make the pikas' current habitat inhospitable to them, but pikas exist in a limited range: on high mountain peaks. While adapted to face harsh cold conditions, pikas are very vulnerable to increases in temperature: pikas can perish in as few as six hours of exposure to moderate temperatures of 75-77 degrees. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. With continued climate change, temperatures in the western United States could increase by 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050, and up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, according to the U.N. Pikas' tremendous ability to keep their bodies warm in such fierce conditions now poses a threat to the species. At this point, the babies leave the mother, though they will not be adult size for another two months, and the mother may mate again. Pikas give birth to two to four babies, and raise them for about four weeks. During this time, males will use their call to attract females. Typically, pikas mate about a month before the first snow melt, somewhere between April and July. Pikas are diurnal, active during the day, and forage year-round. Pikas store some of their food for winter in piles, referred to as "haystacks" or "haypiles." While pikas themselves are difficult to spot, their distinctive haystacks can provide signs of their presence. When not defending themselves, pikas spend much of their time foraging for food their diet is comprised of plants such as thistle, sedges, wildflowers, and grasses. Pikas are vocal animals, and will use a sharp call or whistle to warn others of danger. They are territorial and defend their homes from predators, as well as other pikas. Pikas make their dens in rock piles and slides. Pikas have comparably little, rounded ears, no tail, and are much smaller: with adults' bodies about the size of a tennis ball, and babies not much larger than a walnut. Despite their nickname, "rock rabbit," pikas' appearance differs significantly from their cousin the rabbit. Their furry paws provide traction for them as they scramble across snow. Pikas' thick, brown fur and round bodies help them conserve heat efficiently on treeless, wind-swept slopes. In Oregon, American pikas are celebrated residents of Crater Lake National Park, as well as other mountainous areas of central and eastern Oregon.Īmerican pikas possess adaptations that allow them to exist in such cold places. Pikas are only found in the western part of North America, from British Columbia, Canada to New Mexico, United States. Commonly referred to as the "rock rabbit," American pikas are small mammals that inhabit rocky, cold alpine and subalpine areas, typically at elevations of 8,000 to 13,000 feet.
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