USE OF NONALPINE ANTHROPOGENIC HABITATS BY AMERICAN PIKAS (OCHOTONA PRINCEPS) IN WESTERN OREGON

摘要

The American pika (Ochotona princeps Richardson) has long been characterized in field guides and popular literature as an obligate inhabitant of alpine talus and as having relatively low dispersal capability However, recent work reveals pikes to have broader habitat associations than previously reported. Over a large portion of the western slope of the Cascade Range in Oregon, pikas inhabit relatively low-elevation sites far from alpine areas and frequently occur in rocky man-made habitats such as roalcuts or rock quarries. We present observations of pikes in these previously overlooked habitats and discuss implications for (1) the proposed listing of the American pika as an endangered or threatened species; (2) furthering our understanding of pika population dynamics, habitat associations, and dispersal capabilites; and (3) management of federal, state, and private forest lands.