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Pika Project Field Training, CO
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Sep 05 2019 |
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| Pivo |
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| Volunteer | 4.97 Miles |
1,258 AEG |
| | Volunteer | 4.97 Miles | 3 Hrs 34 Mns | | 1.60 mph |
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| 1,258 ft AEG | 28 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Field training for The Front Range Pika Project. First a little background: The Front Range Pika Project is a citizen science volunteer program designed to collect data on the potential impacts of climate change on American pika across Colorado.
American Pika are small mammals that inhabit talus and boulder fields in the high-elevation alpine ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains. Pika do not hibernate, so their ecology and behavior are specialized to help pika to exist in the extreme conditions characteristic of alpine ecosystems. Generalist herbivores, pikas spend much of the summer building ‘haypiles’ — stashes of green plants, including grasses, sedges, forbes and other vegetation to sustain themselves through the winter.
The characteristics that allow pika to survive the cold winters may make them vulnerable to a changing climate. Because of their sensitivity to warm temperatures and variation in snowpack, the American Pika is believed to be an important indicator species for the ecological impacts of climate change.
Met up with Brad from the Denver Zoo, and two other volunteers in Breckenridge then drove to within a mile and half of the trail head. Once we were in the talus field, Brad picked out a large boulder to use as the center of our plot. We each went out 12 meters from the center and looked for pika sign. Scat, haystacks, urine old and fresh. Scat was collected, GPS coordinates and photos were taken. We also recorded sitings, calls, weather conditions, including ambient temperature, rock measurements and other wildlife. |
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Wildflowers Observation Isolated
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