Are pikas disappearing from the Southern Rockies?

 

2008 – Liesl and her Colorado Parks & Wildlife collaborators visited 69 sites in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.

• All these sites had pikas before 1980, and their goal was to figure out how many sites still had them.

• It turned out that 65 of these sites (94%) still had pikas. (See above map.) This was much better than the ~60%

• occupancy found around the same time in the Great Basin, so the team was happy!

 

2011 – After analyzing the data from those 69 sites surveyed in 2008, some clear patterns emerged.

• Water is key. Pikas had disappeared from 4 of the driest sites in Liesl’s study area.

• At some sites with low precipitation (rain and snow), pikas were able to survive thanks

• in part to sources of water under their rock habitats.

• In general, sites with pikas were wetter and cooler than sites without pikas.