Are American pikas harbingers of changing conditions?
Free lecture by Erik Beever, US Geological Survey research ecologist
American pikas are denizens of rocky talus and lava-flow habitats in mountain ecosystems across western North America.
Mountain environments, cauldrons of climatic harshness, exhibit sharp topographic, vegetative, and climatic gradients.
Pikas are providing scientists with a model for assessing species vulnerability to warming temperatures.
Are other species and indicators in the animal kingdom equally sensitive to changing climate conditions and warming temperatures?
The lecture will also be webstreamed live at http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/live.html.
