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Re: New Study Finds Wild Pikas Are Natural Mammalian Hosts To H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus
I thought we had a lot of Pika discussion here?
Researchers should have been looking at them ever since the Qinghai migratory bird die-off, imo.
Qinghai’s alpine meadows are the home of the Plateau Pika. They build live in burrows instead of making haypiles.
[snip]
...As a result, this species has been poisoned extensively. In Qinghai Province alone, pikas have been poisoned over 80,000 mi2 (200,000 km2), and the onslaught continues. Unfortunately, loss of the plateau pika over vast expanses of the Tibetan Plateau has resulted in a loss of many native species that rely on the pika. Most endemic native birds nest only in pika burrows, and when these collapse following poisoning, the birds disappear.
Most predators on the plateau (weasels, ferrets, Pallas's cat, Tibetan fox, wolf, brown bear, upland buzzard, saker falcon, and black-eared kite) rely almost exclusively on pikas in their diet. When the pikas are poisoned, these animals also disappear. Thus, it appears that the plateau pika is a keystone species for biodiversity on the plateau and should be managed accordingly. Fortunately, as of 2002, the tide has been turning toward a policy that embraces the pika rather than one bent on destruction of the species.
I thought we had a lot of Pika discussion here?
Researchers should have been looking at them ever since the Qinghai migratory bird die-off, imo.
Qinghai’s alpine meadows are the home of the Plateau Pika. They build live in burrows instead of making haypiles.
[snip]
...As a result, this species has been poisoned extensively. In Qinghai Province alone, pikas have been poisoned over 80,000 mi2 (200,000 km2), and the onslaught continues. Unfortunately, loss of the plateau pika over vast expanses of the Tibetan Plateau has resulted in a loss of many native species that rely on the pika. Most endemic native birds nest only in pika burrows, and when these collapse following poisoning, the birds disappear.
Most predators on the plateau (weasels, ferrets, Pallas's cat, Tibetan fox, wolf, brown bear, upland buzzard, saker falcon, and black-eared kite) rely almost exclusively on pikas in their diet. When the pikas are poisoned, these animals also disappear. Thus, it appears that the plateau pika is a keystone species for biodiversity on the plateau and should be managed accordingly. Fortunately, as of 2002, the tide has been turning toward a policy that embraces the pika rather than one bent on destruction of the species.
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