Ochotona collaris

The collared pika (Ochotona collaris) is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae, and part of the order Lagomorpha which comprises rabbits, hares, and pikas. It is a small (~160 gram) alpine lagomorph that lives in boulder fields of central and southern Alaska (U.S.), and in parts of Canada, including northern British Columbia, Yukon, and western parts of the Northwest Territories. It is closely related to the American pika (O. princeps), but it is a monotypic form containing no other recognized subspecies. It is asocial, does not hibernate, and spends a large part of its time in the summer collecting vegetation that is stored under rocks ('haypiles') as a supply of food for the winter. Some individuals have been observed collecting and consuming dead birds as sources of fat and protein. Thousands of trips are made during July and August to collect vegetation for winter. The appearance of collared pikas is similar to other members of the genus Ochotona. On the dorsal side of their body, they have dull grayish fur with gray patches on their shoulders and nape creating a distinguishable collar, while on the ventral side they have an opaque white-colored fur. Their winter pelt is similar to its relative Ochotona princeps, the American pika, but during the other seasons, Ochotona collaris' fur is a darker gray and is less thick than it was in the winter; consequently, only having one annual molt. During the summer season, young that resemble the size of an adult are fully gray while actual adults have brown stains around their heads or neck. Some features that are helpful in identifying O. collaris from O. princeps are the creamy-colored fur over the facial gland which is brown in O. princeps; and in addition, the skull size of O. collaris is broader with a shorter nasal area, a greater tympanic bullae, and different teeth morphology than that of O. princeps. They are petite in size with longer hind-limbs than their forelimbs; their hind-limbs being about 2.9 to 3.1 cm. There have five digits on each front foot and only 4 on each hind foot. The soles of their feet are covered with long fur while still exposing their digital pads on the soles of their feet and their curved claws. They range between 130 to 200 g in body mass and 17.8 to 19.8 cm in length. For both male and females, the average weight is around 157 g, with maximum growth rates increasing as researchers have observed while moving toward the northern parts of collared pika territories. They have a constricted, flat skull with no supraorbital processes, a slender zygomatic arch, and 26 teeth. While some mammals have reduced clavicles in order for more range of motion, the collared pika has a well-developed clavicle supporting the scapula. They do not have a pubic symphysis therefore it does not have a pubic arch within its pelvic girdle. In addition, an interesting characteristic about the male collared pika is that it has no scrotum and the location of its testis is not visibly apparent. This indicates no sexual dimorphism; consequently, one must examine the pseudo-cloaca for evidence of specific genitalia to distinguish the sex of the collared pika. Ochotona collaris are distributed over a wide range of terrain that encompasses the west side of the Northwest Territories, almost all of the Yukon Territory, Northern British Columbia, and the central and southern parts of Alaska. Around 60% of collared pikas are found in regions of Canada with most of them being in Yukon. More specifically, in Alaska, they occur most frequently in ranges around the Yukon-Tanana uplands and Chigmit Mountains, to the head of Lynn Canal near Skagway; in Canada, they occur from Richardson Mountains, south into northwestern British Columbia and west close to the Mackenzie River of the Northwest Territories. Out of the 30 existing species of pika, there are only two who inhabit North America, and they would be the Ochotona collaris and the Ochotona princeps, or the American pika. In relation to the location of distribution of the American pika, O. collaris is located farther north of those regions and is separated by 800 km. This gap encompasses both British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. In central Alaska, within the Pleistocene deposits, preserved specimens of collared pika were found along with some dung pellets; in addition to central Alaska, the Yukon territory also contained some fossilized specimens. The studies of the size variation of the fossils showed that the morphology of Pleistocene pikas was flexible with the alteration of environments from early to middle Pleistocene in both Alaska and Yukon. In 1973, it was suggested that during the isolation of the Wisconsin glaciation, O. collaris became its own species separate from O. princeps. Collared pika colonies are mainly found in the mountain regions and they typically inhabit rock slides near areas of vegetation and fields of meadows. Due to these talus sites, the species’ range distribution is broken up into several condensed areas. Their homes have a range of about 30 m in diameter with caches and dens distancing from 30 to 70 m. The way organisms respond to climate change can be a distinct and peculiar characteristic therefore it is important to note patterns between closely related species, such as the collared pika and the American pika. Collared pikas, like most other pikas choose to live around rock slides in order to use the rocks as protection against the high temperatures they must endure throughout the day, and this is why they are referred to as cold-adapted lagomorphs. Collared pikas are diurnal herbivores and spend time foraging through vegetation during the summer. This species is known as an ecotone species for the way that it keeps its shelter and food storage separate from each other. This process of gathering and foraging for vegetation to add to their caches is referred to as “haying” which is what they spend most of the day doing. It spends no time burrowing because it uses its talus site as a means of protection and habitation. They are most active during the morning and late afternoon. Each individual within this species will preserve its own territory and its own vegetation cache or haypile, and defend it with full force. Therefore, the collared pika is seen as an asocial species and prefers solitude. During the cold winters, the collared pika does not hibernate, but instead stays active, counting on their food sources for energy and survival, and uses the snowpack as a means of insulation. The distance in which the collared pika ventures out to forage is highly dependent on level of predation risk. When gathering food, it is rare to find a pika that would travel more than 10 m away from its talus site. Gathering begins to take place around the end of June or beginning of July and increases at a constant rate as time progresses. Collared pikas tend to have multiple haystacks of vegetation throughout their home range and often dwell in the same site annually. However, although it has multiple haystacks, it mainly focuses on one while the others are much smaller and localized caches. As observed, collared pikas are likely to use whatever is near the rockslides such as leaves, flowering plants, berries, or anything else they can find to add to their food caches; there have even been feces of other animals found within the haystacks of collared pikas. The food caches have been seen to be similar to the size of location of storage. This species is often kleptoparasitic and takes food from others. During their rest periods, collared pikas have been found to sit on rocks and expose themselves to the sunlight. Collared pikas generally mate with those closest to them or their nearest neighbors and are believed to be facultatively monogamous, but they have also been predicted to participate in polygynandry and reproduce with multiple partners based on the fact that males often travel to territories of several females during the spring before mating season begins. The males receive the females around the end of spring. However, the pinnacle of the mating season arises in the summer in May and early June. Collared pikas, both male and female, are reproductively developed at one year of age and give birth to 2–3 young each year in their nests within the talus. They typically produce one litter per year, but may however, produce two litters without successful weaning. Although both can reproduce at one year of age, the male’s reproductive success is reliant on acquiring habitat and drawing females. The female is the one who yields the most parental investment and is burdened by energetic constraints during gestation and lactation. Sexual dimorphism makes it difficult to perceive how much the male invests in nurturing the young.The female’s gestation period lasts about 30 days and produces a litter of blind and almost hairless offspring. The young remain in the nest for approximately 30 days before they are weaned and emerge to the surface. Juveniles remain on the natal territory for only a short time (a few days) before they become independent and disperse to find their own territories. Juvenile pikas can achieve the size of an adult around 40 to 50 days. Parturition timing for northern alpine herbivores is vital due to the brief snow-free timeframe and lack of food sources. The parturition time of most collared pikas is often synchronous in terms of breeding, however there has been a study that has identified some correlation between variation in initiating the first litter and the variation of timing of the snowmelt. Upon finding some asynchronous breeding among pikas, it was suggested that due to not being able to predict snowmelt, this type of breeding could ensure some success in breeding.