Target: Pikas as indicators of changing high altitude temperatures and snowmelt timing.- Importance to Food & Agr: A key indicator of a warming climate in high elevations which determines whether the snowpack accumulates sufficiently for irrigation supplies through the growing season. Pikas can die if temperatures reach 78F.
Curiously, pikas are the hay farmers of the alpine zone, cutting grasses and forbs, drying them in overhangs, and then storing the hay for winter use.
- Issues: Warming temperatures in high elevations threaten pikas that cannot move to higher, cooler areas.
- Observing Options: Presence or absence determined by sighting the animal, its hay piles, or by its characteristic call—which is the first way you will probably find them.
- Citizen Science: PikaNet collects data according to strict protocols from volunteers monitoring critical sites selected by scientists. Trainings are available.
- Getting Started Tip: Becoming familiar with the pika’s call may be the easiest way to locate a pika, and then you can look for them visually and for their signs.
- Additonal Resources: National Park Service: Pikas in Peril
