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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Understanding The Complex Relationships Between Climate, Vegetation, And Foraging Behavior Of A Climate-Sensitive Alpine Mammal In Order To Explain Patterns Of Persistence, Evan Cole
Master's Projects and Capstones
Mountain ecosystems offer substantial ecosystem services but are highly sensitive to climate change. The American pika (Ochotona princeps) serves as an indicator species of climate change and a model organism for studying its impacts on mountain mammals. Certain aspects of plant community composition and structure can function as predictors of pika distribution, but understanding the links between climate, forage quality, and foraging behavior is necessary to identify the mediating mechanism. Pika foraging pressure help shape the local plant community, which can confound modeling efforts and must be considered when evaluating the influence of vegetation on pika persistence. Plant …