American pika are thriving in the Sierra Nevada and southwestern Great Basin
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 - 23:21
in Earth & Climate
The American pika tolerates cold climate environments through physiological and behavioral adaptations which may make them sensitive to even mildly warm climates. Vulnerability of pika habitat to global warming has been an escalating concern, causing speculation that the range of suitable habitat will contract upward in elevation as lower elevation site temperatures increase. Addressing this question, scientists found that pika persist in a wider range of temperatures than previously discovered.