Ochotona princeps - Mountains of western North America (Rockt Mtns, Cascades, Sierras)

This species is complete.

February 8, 2012 by greg van stralen

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Sensitivity Factor	Sensitivity Help 1 - 7 (one being least sensitive, seven being most sensitive)	Confidence Help 1 - 5 (one being least sensitive, five being most sensitive)
Generalist/Specialist	7 Extremely High	5 Very Good
Physiology	7 Extremely High	5 Very Good
Life History	3 Medium	5 Very Good
Habitat	7 Extremely High	4 Good
Dispersal Ability	4 Medium-High	5 Very Good
Disturbance Regimes	2 Medium-Low	3 Fair
Ecology	3 Medium	4 Good
Non-Climatic	3 Medium	3 Fair
Other (weight)	1 Low	3 Fair

Sensitivity Score Help: 63 High

Sensitivity Score

100 * [(0.5 *(Dispersal Distance + Dispersal Barriers) + Disturbance Regimes + (0.5 * Generalist/Specialist) + Physiology + (0.5 * Life History) + Sensitive Habitats + Ecology + Non-Climatic Stressors + (Other * Weight) / 49 + (7 * Weight)]

Note: if Sensitive Habitats are identified, this factor automatically gets a value of seven, otherwise it remains zero.

Confidence Score Help: 4 Good

Confidence Score

The Confidence Score is an average of the Confidence column above.

Overall User Ranking: 7 Extremely High

Common Name:

American pika, whistle pig, pika

Is this Species completed:

Yes

Taxonomy

This is a description of the whole group

Scientific Name:

Ochotona princeps

Geography:

Mountains of western North America (Rockt Mtns, Cascades, Sierras)

Realm:

Terrestrial

Kingdom:

Animal

Phylum:

Chordata (Craniata)

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Lagomorpha

Family:

Ochotonidae

Genus:

Ochotona

Global Rank:

G5 (1996)

Rounded Global Rank:

G5 Secure

IUCN:

Status: Least Concern ver 3.1 2001

US Endangered Species Act Code:

Not listed.

Species Element Code:

AMAEA01020

Generalist/Specialist

Broadly, where does this species fall on the spectrum of generalist to specialist? :

7(specialist)

Confidence in your assessment of the degree to which the species is a generalist or specialist:

5 Very Good

Please specify which factors, if any, make the species more of a specialist:

foraging dependency

phenology dependency

other dependencies

Please further describe the relationships that make the species more of a specialist:

Pika do not hibernate and depend on "haying" for a winter food source. Some references cite specific food requirements but the species is primarily a generalist. Copraphagic. Depends on both grasses and forbs during the winter.

Comments:

Needs a moderate amount of snow cover to provide thermal insulation from the cold. Also, cannot tolerate hear.

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Physiology

Species' physiological sensitivity:

7 high sensitivity

Confidence in how physiologically sensitive the species is to climate change:

5 Very Good

Please specify whether or not this species is physiologically sensitive to one or more of the following:

temperature

precipitation

Comments:

Needs moderate snowpack.

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Life History

Species' reproductive strategy:

Confidence in your assessment of the species' reprodcutive strategy:

5 Very Good

Is the species polycyclic, iteroparous, or semelparous?:

Iteroparous (reproduces in successive cycles--characteristic of K-strategists)

Average length of time to reproductive maturity:

Breed at one year. May reproduce 2x per year.

How many surviving young can an individual produce during a single reproductive event under optimal conditions?:

Litters are 2-6 kits. Most die during the first year.

How many reproductive events can an individual undergo in a single year under optimal conditions?:

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Sensitive Habitats

Depends on the following sensitive habitat types:

Alpine/Subalpine

Other (please specify in comments)

Confidence in whether the species depends on the listed sensitive habitat types:

4 Good

Level of philopatry:

medium

Comments:

Individuals are reported from low-elevation rockpiles, mine shafts, lava tubes, lahar flows, road beds, freeway shoulders, railroad beds, and littoral debris. Young disperse only far enough to find a burrow=colonies likely function as metapopulations.

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Dispersal Ability

Maximum annual dispersal distance:

5-25km

Confidence in maximum annual dispersal distance:

5 Very Good

Within the context of dispersal distance above, do barriers to dispersal exist?:

4 Some

Confidence in barriers to dispersal exists:

5 Very Good

Specific dispersal distance (if known), and dispersal type (juvenile, adult, etc.):

Juveniles: Up to 20km (rare) (i.e. Mt St Helens). Usually <10km.

Please select the types of barriers relevant to dispersal:

Road (Highway)

Road (Arterial)

Agriculture

Industrial or Urban Development

Suburban or Rural Residential Development

Rivers

Dams

Waterfalls

Arid lands

Comments:

Relies upon talus habitat. At Mt St Helens, dispersed after eruption. Populations use varied habitat types (lahas, littoral debris, rip-rap).

Citations:

See 75 FR 6438-6471 for full references and discussion.

Disturbance Regimes

How sensitive is this species to one or more disturbance regimes:

2 slightly sensitive

Confidence in how sensitive is this species on one or more disturbance regimes:

3 Fair

Please check all disturbance regimes upon which the species is sensitive:

Wind

Drought

Urbanization

Other (please specify in comments section)

Please describe the disturbance regimes upon which the species is sensitive (frequency, timing, severity, duration):

Increasing temperatures due to climate change may cause localized extinctions of low elevation, isolated colonies. Re-colonization (mete-population dynamics) frequently occur.

Comments:

Wind could induce dehrdration & increase thermal stress due to less snowpack;

Citations:

75 FR 6438-6471.

Ecological Relationships

Please specify which of the following (if any) are sensitive to climate change for this species:

forage

habitat

Confidence in how sensitive the species is to other effects of climate change on its ecology:

4 Good

Which types of climate and climate-driven changes in the environment affect these aspects of the species' ecology?:

temperature

precipitation

How sensitive is this species’ ecological relationships to the effects of climate change?:

Comments:

Some colonies may be very sensitive to thermal stress. Pika can modify behavior, food sources, colonies if opportunities are available. In some areas, pika may retreat to greater depths (i.e. lava tubes, mine shafts) or alter circaddian rythms. Presence of rock ice may influence persistence of colonies a great deal. Precipitation in the form of snowpack is a major factor in many areas.

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Interacting non-climatic stressors

To what degree do other, non-climate-related threats, to the species make it more sensitive to climate change?:

Confidence in the degree to which non-climate-related threats affect the species' sensitivity to climate change:

3 Fair

Comments:

Loss of talus would impact colonies.

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Other Sensitivities

Are there other critical factors that have not been addressed, which may make this species more sensitive to climate change?:

Normal factors such as predation, density dependent factors (disease, stress) may occur. It is possible that an alien predator could cause significan impacts as could the rise of non-analog communities and changes in the plant community.

Confidence in other critical factors:

3 Fair

Collectively, to what degree do these factors make the species sensitive to climate change?:

1 (a little)

Confidence in the degree to which these factors make this species sensitive to climate change:

3 Fair

What weight should these factors have on the overall sensitivity of this species to climate change:

0.2

Citations:

75 FR 6438

Overall User Ranking

In your opinion, how would you rank the overall sensitivity of this species to climate change?:

7(extreme sensitivity)

Confidence in your overall assessment of the sensitivity of this species to climate change:

3 Fair

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Pika sensitivity to climate change.

Submitted by greg van stralen on Wed, 2012-02-08 14:33.

When reduced to a set of quantitative factors, pika appear to be more sensitive than they likely are. Many locations are stable and it appears that they will. Lower elevation colonies, especially those in the Great Basin, are already isolated and do not substantially contribute to the gene bank of the species.

Many new populations/colonies have been reported and many more are likely out there.

Climate Change Sensitivity Database

Ochotona princeps - Mountains of western North America (Rockt Mtns, Cascades, Sierras)

Sensitivity Score

Confidence Score

Pika sensitivity to climate change.