Snapshot: Tracking Adorable Climate Change Indicators

Potato-sized and undeniably cute, American pikas are mountain-dwelling canaries in the coalmine for climate change. Though they live in cold, mountainous regions like the Rockies, pikas are surprisingly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. So, as the climate warms, some populations are moving further up the mountains, whereas other populations have already gone extinct, says Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D. student Peter Billman. 

Billman currently studies pika populations at 240 sites in 28 watersheds across the Southern Rocky Mountains, where he hikes far and wide to collect data. 

“We like to focus on pikas because they’re charismatic, but they are also a very good indicator species that are remarkably easy to find and study, unlike many mammals like wolverines,” says Billman. 

Billman explains that globally, many alpine species are declining and retracting upslope. In the case of pikas, their habitats have contracted around an average of 1000 feet further up the slopes, and results of his work indicate the apparent causes of population losses at lower elevations in the region include high summer temperatures and low snowpacks.  

In addition to his work, the Denver Zoo and Rocky Mountain Wild have introduced a new citizen science app called Pika Patrol, where anyone can document where they find pikas, which has yielded an abundance of data in its first year. They are pretty easy to spot if you know what to look and listen for, since pikas vocalize by letting out loud “eeps!” and will sometimes come right up to people, says Billman.  

Conserving pikas is a challenge, Billman explains, because they have a very narrow range of temperatures they can tolerate, and are extremely prone to heat stress. These strict temperature requirements limit some types of management interventions like relocating individuals to new areas, leaving few intervention strategies. Ultimately, without addressing the root cause of declines (i.e., climate change), pikas will continue to face population losses across many portions of their range. For example, pikas are now extinct in Zion National Park, along with numerous populations now extinct in Nevada and California. 

Meanwhile, there are many dedicated researchers like Billman working to learn more about this endearing species, because this information can lend insights into how other species may adapt or otherwise respond to climate change. 

“It’s a really fun species to work with, because there are a ton of people doing work from many different angles. Not all species have that and we’re very lucky to have so many dedicated scientists and wildlife managers,” he says.