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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1: Pika Species

Conservation biologists and researchers often look at how healthy a group or population of animals is to help learn about the animals' environment. The species that reflect best how the environment is doing are called indicator species. Animals that make good indicator species are very sensitive to their environments and therefore very sensitive to even small changes in their habitat. Often times, indicator species are fish or insects, but in some cases they are mammals. That is why scientists are alarmed at the latest research that shows pikas, which are an indicator species, seem to be going extinct in the western United States.

Pika are small squirrel like creatures that live in cool temperatures, primarily in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin. They are extremely sensitive to warm temperatures. As global warming advances, these tiny animals are forced further and further up the mountains, which reduces their habitat. Also, by forcing the population that remains high into mountain tops, the animals become isolated from one another. This could lead to inbreeding, which can cause genetic problems among the animals that do remain.

Scientists have looked at historical evidence and found that as recently as 7,500 years ago, pika could be found at an average elevation of 5,700 feet, which is roughly the altitude of Denver, Colorado. Today, the average pika lives at 8,300 feet, which is closer to the elevation of some ski areas in the mountains.

--Written by Jodey Byers

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