Pika Ecology

The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is a rabbit-relative that occupies rocky boulder fields in western North America. Pikas are herbivores that collect grasses and forbs for haypiles that act as a “pantry” of sorts that supplies their food throughout the winter. Over evolutionary time, these hearty creatures have adapted to survive and thrive in montane habitats where temperatures rarely reach above freezing. Despite their remarkable cold-tolerance, pikas are sensitive to warm temperatures, making them quite vulnerable to the predicted warming effects of climate change in western mountain ranges. 

Current pika projects in the lab involve using non-invasive sampling methods (specifically field-collected scat samples) to sex pikas and to characterize the diet of pikas in the Rocky Mountains, as well as their gut bacterial communities. Pika work in the lab is part of an ongoing collaboration with Liesl Erb (WWC), Chris Ray (University of Colorado Boulder), and Johanna Varner (Colorado Mesa University).