Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Bummer: Over the last decade, when the planet hasn't warmed, has the planet warmed enough to cause the lack of precipitation that's allegedly causing pikas to die of "extreme cold-stress"?

Tiny mammal a little loser during big climate shift - Spokesman.com - March 18, 2013
[Pikas are] disappearing from the Great Basin that stretches from Idaho to California and where Beever and other researchers found them just a decade ago...precipitation is the deciding factor in the health of the American pika in the Great Basin, no matter how much good habitat is available.

“Precipitation appears to be important because it can influence the amount of food available for pikas in the summer, and an insulating snowpack can minimize exposure of pikas to extreme cold-stress,” Beever said.

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