Distribution of American pikas in a low-elevation lava landscape: conservation implications from the range periphery

Abstract

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Are American Pikas (<em>Ochotona princeps</em>) in the Canadian Rockies vulnerable to climate change?

“…snow blanketing the talus acts to insulate pikas from extreme cold. Beever et al (2010) found below-talus temperatures to be colder in the absence of snow, and acute cold stress (defined as number of days with below-talus temperatures less than −5°C) to be among the better predictors of pika persistence in the Great Basin. hik (2007, 2010) reported the collapse of a population of Collared Pikas in the Yukon by 90% between 1998 and 2003, a period with later spring snowmelt associated with negative Pacific decadal oscillation values.…”

“…Concerns over the effects of climate change on pikas arise from several sources including observations of population disappearance (Beever et al 2003(Beever et al , 2011stewart et al 2015), elevational retreat (Beever et al 2003(Beever et al , 2011Grayson 2005;Millar and Westfall 2010), susceptibility to acute (MacArthur and Wang 1974;smith 1974a) and chronic heat stress (Beever et al 2010;Wilkening et al 2011;stewart et al 2015), increasing frequency of low precipitation and snowpack (erb et al 2011;Beever et al 2013;Jeffress et al 2013), limited dispersal ability (seppänen et al 2012;Beever and smith 2013), restriction to areas of permafrost (hafner 1993, 1994Millar and Westfall 2010;Wilkening et al 2015), dependence on higher elevations (Rodhouse et al 2010), and habitat change (CoseWiC 2011).…”

“…Jeffress et al 2013). Beever et al (2010Beever et al ( , 2013, Wilkening et al (2011), andstewart et al (2015) found that chronic heat stress, determined by measuring mean summer temperature (Mst) during June, July, and August, is the single best indication of whether an American Pika population will persist. the UsFWs established an ambient Mst of 16.2°C as their primary criterion for determining whether pika populations in the United states are at risk (UsFWs 2010).…”

“…the UsFWs established an ambient Mst of 16.2°C as their primary criterion for determining whether pika populations in the United states are at risk (UsFWs 2010). this threshold was derived by subtracting one standard error from the observed mean summer sub-talus temperatures at which pikas were observed to disappear in the Great Basin (Beever et al 2010). Pikas thermoregulate behaviourally by taking cover in rock crevices, suggesting that sub-talus temperature, rather than ambient temperature, is an important climatic factor to pika distribution.…”

Habitat Use by the Eastern Hognose Snake on a Barrier Beach

“…Populations near the edge of the range of the species often deal with limiting factors that differ in comparison to populations in the core of the range, including changes in predation pressure (Vaupel and Matthies 2012), food availability (Ferguson and McLoughlin 2000), temperature (Sanford et al 2006), growing season (Normand et al 2009), and of increasing concern, climate (Opdam and Wascher 2003;Böhning-Gaese and Lemoine 2004;Moritz et al 2008;Rodhouse et al 2010). Conservation biologists and wildlife managers require the best natural history and ecology data to make informed decisions, but variation in limiting factors and differential response to them are often poorly documented, complicating the decision making process (Dayton 2003;Greene 2005;Bury 2006).…”