New research suggests that climate change could have a major impact on pikas, which are small mammals that live in high-elevation rock fields.
Leah Yandow, who headed the study, says they found that pikas can only live in very specific environments, which suggests that rising temperatures could harm them.
“There’s been this general idea that pikas will simply move up slope with climate change,” Yandow said.
But her research shows that the animals don’t do well at higher elevations. Yandow says that’s important because pikas are integral to alpine ecoystems.
