The American Pika Image via Wikipedia
A new study in the journal Ecology has a positive report on the American Pika (Ochotona princeps) populations in the Rocky Mountains. Whereas earlier studies reported that extinction rates were high in the Great Basin, this study found that in the southern Rocky Mountains the pika populations were stable. However, as the snowpack decreases and the Rockies becomes drier it will be necessary to continue to monitor the Pika population. Read more at: Rocky Mountain pikas not nearing extinction, study finds – latimes.com and Ecology On the generality of a climate-mediated shift in the distribution of the American pika (Ochotona princeps)
Natural History Wanderings 
Sandy, in case you haven’t seen this…
27. ENDANGERED SPECIES:
‘Third time’s the charm’ for pika as Calif. agrees to weigh protection
Debra Kahn, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, October 20, 2011
California decided yesterday to consider an endangered species designation for the American pika, a small mammal threatened by climate change.
The California Fish and Game Commission voted 4-1 to consider protections for the pika, a mountain-dwelling animal that resembles a hamster and is found in nine Western states.
The commission has twice before refused to list the pika, and each time a state judge has bounced the decision back to the agency, most recently last October in a ruling that chastised the commission for failing to consider scientific data that appears to favor protecting the pika (E&ENews PM, Oct. 19, 2010).
The commission sided yesterday with a state scientist, who said that while the pika was found in a larger range of habitats than previously thought, climate change could narrow its options. “There hasn’t been a smoking gun in California in terms of climate, but climate change is already affecting distribution of American pikas in Nevada,” said Department of Fish and Game environmental scientist Scott Osborn.
Earthjustice attorney Greg Loarie, who represented the Center for Biological Diversity in its original 2007 petition and subsequent lawsuits, said the decision took him by surprise.
“Since the commission had rejected the petition twice before … we assumed that the petition would be denied again,” he said. “The third time’s the charm, I guess.”
California’s Department of Fish and Game will now review the pika’s status over the next 12 months. Listing under the state’s Endangered Species Act is by no means certain.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined last year to list the pika as endangered, although it also considered a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity in 2009. FWS found that the animal could tolerate a wider range of temperatures and precipitation than previously thought (Greenwire, Feb. 5, 2010).
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By: John Wall on October 20, 2011
at 2:32 PM