A Surprising Discovery of American Pika Sites in the Northwestern Great Basin

Abstract

Abstract. Although the American pika (Ochotona princeps) continues to receive attention due to documented declines and range retractions, particularly in the Great Basin, thorough range inventories have yet to be completed in many parts of the region. Here we report on recently discovered populations in northwestern Nevada in areas not suspected to support pika activity under current climate regimes. We describe 238 new locations (“sites”) with evidence of past or current occupancy by pikas which cluster into 31 locales, which we interpret as metapopulations or “demes,” in 15 distinct mountain ranges or geographic areas. We documented twice as many relict sites (sites with evidence of former pika occupancy) as currently occupied sites, a result that supports previous observations of local range retraction and site losses within the pika's range. In the overall site data, median elevation and water year precipitation were higher and minimum and maximum July temperatures were lower for occupied sites than f...