Non-invasive measurements of physiological condition are widely used for monitoring population health in the context of climate change. Specifically, fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (GCM) can be measured non-invasively to study stress in animals. The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is a small lagomorph that may be threatened by climate change. The La Sal Mountains are an isolated mountain range in southern Utah where pikas are predicted to be vulnerable due to their southern latitude and isolation from “mainland” ranges. However, preliminary data suggest that pika populations in this range are at high densities and relatively good physiological condition. In a mark-recapture study, we sought to understand predictors of individual-level stress in this population. We collected demographic data and measured microclimates in the territories of marked individuals in 2018 and 2019.
Results/Conclusions
Due to low sample size, temperature sensor failure, and inability to collect scat from all animals, we were unable to test many of our hypotheses. We found no evidence for effects of body condition or ectoparasite load on stress, but territory vegetation cover was negatively correlated to GCM. Because 2019 was an unusually high snow year, animals whose territories had more vegetation cover may have had longer access to summer food. Understanding predictors of individual-level stress in pikas is important for monitoring the health of this species and identifying potentially vulnerable populations.