September 2024 - 16

IN THE FIELD
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is working to collect long-term data on pikas. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
Monitoring Wyoming's
talus slope sentinel
Learning more about American pikas can help Game and Fish
make better management decisions
By Rene Schell
U
ntil recently, the American pika's
population in Wyoming was a bit
of a mystery. While there have been
several targeted studies of pikas in
the Cowboy State, previous research has been
limited in scale and has focused on populations
in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
However, the mounting concerns about
the impact of climate change on the pika's
habitat and population have brought this
issue to the forefront. This prompted petitions
in 2007 and 2016 to list the pika under the
Endangered Species Act, underlining the need
for action.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department's
nongame section began surveying the
state to collect comprehensive data on pika
populations within suitable habitat. These
initial field seasons served as the beginning
16 | September 2024
of a long-term data collection effort with
surveys being conducted several years apart
into the future.
The American pika presents unique challenges
for biologists to study. Their physiology
and dependence on specific geographic
and thermal conditions may make them an
excellent indicator species for examining the
ecological effects of climate change. Changes
in pika populations can signal broader shifts
in the quality and quantity of alpine habitats.
The pika thrives in the rocky, talus slopes
of alpine and subalpine regions of the western
United States. In Wyoming, pikas are typically
found in high-elevation habitats, ranging from
11,000-foot peaks to 8,000-foot rocky hillsides
within the central Rocky, Snowy Range
and Bighorn mountains. This makes them a
less accessible mammal to survey.
These creatures have a high metabolic rate,
which helps them stay warm throughout
the winter. However, it also makes them
susceptible to heat. During summer mornings
they cut and pile food from meadows,
dry it in the sun and store it for the winter.
Once the day warms up, they retreat into the
cool spaces between rocks to regulate their
body temperature. Unlike many other small
mammals, pikas do not hibernate. Instead,
they eat their stored vegetation called hay
piles, which they rely on to survive the harsh
winter months beneath a protective layer of
snow. Pikas have a low reproductive rate and
limited dispersal ability, primarily because of
their intolerance to heat and specific habitat
requirements. If they become locally
extinct in an area they currently occupy, the
extreme isolation of the various Wyoming
populations could make recolonization of
their habitats difficult.
Nongame biologists used aerial imagery to
consider habitat suitability and accessibility,

September 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2024

September 2024 - 1
September 2024 - 2
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