Our warming climate will soon claim another species

The American pika, which evolved to survive its cold
 mountain habitat, is disappearing as the climate warms.

Scientists have warned for years that a warming climate will threaten many of the world's species. But for one diminutive alpine creature, the threat has already arrived.

The American pika is disappearing from much of its mountain habitat across the western United States, with rising temperatures a driving factor, a new study says. The findings, said lead author Erik A. Beever, a research ecologist with the United States Geological Survey, also point to a much larger problem.

"This is kind of an indication of what's happening in our mountain ecosystems," Beever said, pointing out that the rivers that feed the West's cities have their origins in the pika's habitat. The findings, published last week in Mammalogy, paint a troubling picture.

Read Nicholas Kusnetz’s story on Inside Climate News – “The American 'Fur Ball' Being Threatened by a Warming Climate.”