Pallas's pika (''Ochotona pallasi''), also known as the Mongolian pika, is a species of small mammals in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is found mainly in the mountains of western

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

Description

Pallas's pika can range from anywhere between in weight and can grow up to long. Pallas's pikas have round bodies, very short limbs, and small rounded ears. They will also have different pelage coloration depending on the time of the year. They become lighter in the summer and much darker in the winter.

Ecology

Distribution and habitat

''O. p. pallasi'' can be geographically separated from the other three subspecies. ''O. p. pallasi'' is largely distributed in Kazakhstan and the other large group ''O. p. pricei'', are distributed along Mongolia and bordering territories. The range for both these groups extends all the way between the Betpak Dala Desert located in Kazakhastan to the Helan Shan Range. The remaining two, which have been little-studied, ''O. p. argentata'' collected mostly at the Helan Shan Range and the ''O. p. sunidica'' found mostly near the Chinese-Mongolian border, both of which found in rocky habitats with very restricted ranges.

Diet

Pallas's pikas are much smaller in body size than other herbivores that usually share the same environment. Their body size allows them to consume more of the lower level vegetation, giving them more of an advantage over larger herbivores, such as livestock. Like other pikas, Pallas's pika is

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

and saves grass in the summer to eat in the winter. They often construct haypiles with this stash, but some populations prefer to keep their stores under rocks. Their diet consists mostly of grasses, however their diet does range in flowers as well as stems. Another form of further nutrition is the consumption of cecotrophs. Cecotrophs are the evacuated cecal contents that come from the pika.

Ecosystem roles

Pallas's pika mostly are found in more arid type climates. They have shown to play a role in not only

seed dispersal In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vector ...

and vegetation, but the alteration of site conditions. This alteration through burrowing, has led to plant growth and increased soil nutrients. This is a clear representation of allogenic ecosystem engineering.

Mating and reproduction

Pallas's pikas are only monogamous. Mating is between male and females. Their litter size contains an average of 5 young and around 2.7 litters per year. Reproduction will only occur in the summer. Most young by day 19 are able to consume solid food and are sexually mature as soon as 4 weeks.

Physiology

The Pallas's pika and many other subspecies show a mechanism called microbial nitrogen fixation. This is a very important mechanism consisting of an isolation of a bacterial community in the cecum and colon of the Pika called the nifH gene. Since Pallas's pika's diet consist of such poor feed, they need to have an adaptation such as this in order to provide the essential amino acids to their diet. These essential amino acids are supplied by the microorganisms produced by microbial nitrogen fixations.

Phylogeny and taxonomy

There are four defined taxa: ''O. p. pallasi'', ''O. p. pricei'', ''O. p. sunidica'', and ''O. argentata''. Mitochondrial studies show that the two larger defined taxa of ''O. pallasi'' are paraphyletic to ''O. argentata''. However, morphometric data shows that the taxa ''O. p pricei'' and ''O. p. pallasii'' show similar traits to one other than to ''O. argentata''. ''O. argentata'' differ in that they show a rufous type coloration in the summer and a more silver type coloration in the winter. As a species, Pallas's pika is common. However, ''O. p. hamica'', ''O. p. helanshanensis'' and ''O. p. sundica'' are rated as " critically endangered" and "

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

", respectively, on the IUCN Red List.

References

* Grzimek, Bernhard, ed. "Pallas's pika". Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 16. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003. 499-500. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1765269 Pikas Mammals of China Mammals of Mongolia Mammals of Russia Mammals described in 1867 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN