NOVEMBER 18, 2008 Future could be rocky for pikas

Global warming may pose problems for small mammal

By Brett Prettyman I’m not alone. The American pika The Salt Lake Tribune largely has been ignored by the scien- tifi c community and state and federal wildlife agencies. But suddenly, due Bald Mountain, Uinta Mountains » to climate change, global warming or The tricky task of hopping across the whatever you choose to call it, pikas unstable rock fi eld was becoming te- are important. At least, more people dious, tiring and dangerous. We were are paying attention to them. searching for pikas, a small mammal related to rabbits that lives in talus Because of their unique niche in fi elds in high elevation areas across nature and specialized high-altitude the western United States. lifestyle, pikas have become a “ca- A pika sits on a rock at the base of Bald nary in a coal mine” indicator in the Mountain, in the Uinta Mountains. Pika’s The distinctive alarm call of the furry global warming controversy. are small rabbit-like mammals that live in little creatures -- resembling a small the state’s high elevations. (Rick Egan/ goat being squeezed by a too-adoring “Many people consider them an indi- The Salt Lake Tribune ) child -- let us know pikas were in the cator species of what is happening,” area, but they were proving elusive. Kevin Labrum, a sensitive species the research process by conducting biologist for the Utah Division of occupancy studies this summer. Theorizing that the timid animals Wildlife Resources (DWR) said after might be a little threatened by a Biologists used computer models to that morning on the talus slopes of predict where the best pika habitat group of four humans, we broke up Bald Mountain. “The can’t go any to continue looking. Venturing off on is found in Utah and then visited higher than they are. If it gets too the sites. my own, I decided to do more stop- warm they will probably disappear. ping and observing than rushing and There is just nowhere else for them falling on the sharp rocks. “We used visual sightings, scat piles, to go.” food reserves and vocalizations as indicators that there was occupancy The reward was immediate. A fl ash The Center for Biological Diversity of brown fur ripped through the rocks on the sites,” Labrum said. “We fi led a petition with the U.S. Fish and found that nearly every plot that has not 20 feet away. I remained motion- Wildlife Service in October 2007 less and, after several more streaks, the right size talus and right forage to list the American pika under the conditions has pikas. I would not the pika -- Ochotona princeps uinta federal Endangered Species Act. The -- fi nally revealed itself. Eventually, say they are rare, just unique to their center followed up in August 2008 habitat.” the little creatures were practically by fi ling a lawsuit against the U.S. posing for us. Fish and Wildlife Service to hasten Because so little is known about his- the process. I had seen pikas during high-eleva- torical populations of pikas and the tion hikes in the past, but it was usu- potential risk to their habitat, DWR Because little to no research has been biologists listed the animals as a Tier ally just in passing. I had never taken done on pikas in Utah and across the time to just sit and watch. III species in the Utah Wildlife Ac- country, state wildlife offi cials began tion Plan. Such species are at the top of the list when it comes to prioritiz- threatened or endangered species. ing projects and research. The Center for Biological Diversity “We are working with all the regional fi led a petition on Oct.1, 2007, with One scientist who has studied pikas offi ces that have pikas in their areas the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is Denise Dearing, a University of and are in the midst of analyzing the (FWS) to list the pika under the fed- Utah biology professor who wrote scientifi c validity of the petition to eral Endangered Species Act. The her doctoral thesis project on the diet see if we need to do our own,” said federal wildlife agency responded of pikas in Colorado. Kevin McAbee, an ecologist for the that it would be at least one fi scal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Salt year before they could get to the Pikas don’t hibernate like other Lake fi eld offi ce, which is taking the required 90-day fi nding on the peti- non-migrating mammals in winter lead for the agency on the 90-day tion. The center subsequently fi led a climates. They spend their time fi nding for the petition. lawsuit against FWS on Aug. 19, to harvesting vegetation and storing it compel the agency to get working on in haystacks or hay piles to feed on the petition. FWS is now studying the during the winter. Pikas on the edge? petition and will provide a draft of it fi ndings in April 2009. Dearing’s research focused on the The pika has been petitioned for in- pikas’ two diets: the one they eat in clusion on the Endangered Species the summer months and the one they list due to possible impact of global American pika facts store for the long months while they warming on its population. Here are live under the snow. reasons listed in the petition: » Pikas are small mammals related to rabbits. There are 36 recognized sub- “I found that 80 percent of the winter » Rising summer temperatures may species in North America, 31 in the storage included a plant that is really too much for the cold-loving pika. United States and seven in Utah. toxic,” Dearing said. “They are gen- eralist herbivores in the summer, but » Higher summer temperatures may » Range: California, New Mexico, specialists in the winter.” keep young pikas from leaving their Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Wyo- home range and keep them from ming, Montana and Washington. Dearing discovered that the hay piles midday foraging, thus keeping them were dominated by plants containing from gaining enough weight and col- » Size: 6.3 to 8.5 inches long and toxic phenolic compounds. Further lecting enough vegetation to survive weigh .26 to .38 pounds. research showed plants with the the winter. compounds inhibited bacteria, acting » Life span: About 7 years like a preservative. » Diminished snowpack leaves less protective insulation for pikas during » Young: Two litters of 2 or 3 young “Kind of like a fancy lettuce -- the the coldest winter conditions. are born each year. hay piles would rot much faster with- out it,” Dearing said. “The phenol » Temperature and precipitation » Nicknames: Rock rabbit, mouse allows them to store food for a longer changes could change the composi- hare, whistling hare, piping hare time and makes it not so toxic by the tion and relative abundance of veg- and cony. time they eat it.” etation in and around talus areas to a mix of plant species which are less Source: Center for Biological Di- During her research, Dearing docu- favorable for pikas. versity mented an average hay pile size of 28 kilograms (61.6 pounds). That rep- » The pikas’ meadow foraging habi- resents around 14,000 foraging trips tat is shrinking as timberlines move to create the stockpile. The pikas upslope due to rising temperatures. Dearing studied were dependent on the haystacks for an average of 175 » Reductions in alpine permafrost days, but showed they were prepared may lead to degradation and eventual for the worst by storing enough for loss of habitat. 350 days. » Changing climate conditions may That’s impressive, but having a make pikas more susceptible to year’s worth of food will do little to predators and disease. help pikas if average temperatures continue to climb, a fear the Center Source: Center for Biological Di- for Biological Diversity expressed versity in its petition to the Fish and Wild- life Service to list the mammal as a Where the petition stands