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What the sources say

American PikaOchotona princeps

Every figure, record and mechanism on the American Pika profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 51 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Ochotona princeps (American pika). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysstacks hay in summer
The source saysCaching, also known as haying, occurs during summer.
The page saysBroken rock and talus fields beside alpine meadows in the mountains of western North America, from British Columbia south to California and New Mexico
The source saysAmerican pikas inhabit areas of broken rock and talus fields fringed by alpine meadows.
The page saysBroken rock and talus fields beside alpine meadows in the mountains of western North America, from British Columbia south to California and New Mexico
The source saysAmerican pikas can be found throughout the mountainous regions of western North America. Their geographic range extends as far south as New Mexico and California, as far north as British Columbia
The page saysMostly forbs and shrubs, plus grasses, sedges and its own soft droppings
The source saysForbs and shrubs constitute 78 to 87% of their diet, with alpine avens, clovers, and sedges
The page saysMostly forbs and shrubs, plus grasses, sedges and its own soft droppings
The source saysalpine avens, clovers, and sedges making up the remaining 22 to 13% of their diet
The page saysMostly forbs and shrubs, plus grasses, sedges and its own soft droppings
The source saysPikas consume the caecal pellet (which has high energy value and protein content) or store it for later consumption.
The page saysStacks a winter hay pile in summer instead of hibernating
The source saysCaching, also known as haying, occurs during summer.
The page saysA single haypile can hold up to 30 plant species.
The source saysup to 30 species of plants may be found in a single haypile
The page saysPikas avoid some toxic plants, yet they may still store them.
The source sayscertain plant species are avoided due to the presence of toxins, these plants may be cached in haypiles for winter consumption
The page saysSome toxins act as natural preservatives that wear off by the time the plant is eaten.
The source saysSome toxins act as natural preservatives that wear off by the time the plant is consumed.
The page saysIn winter it tunnels through the snow to reach meadows and its haypiles.
The source saysthey do make tunnels through the snow during the winter to access meadows and haypiles
The page saysA pika makes two kinds of droppings: a hard brown pellet and a soft, shiny string called a caecal pellet.
The source saysAmerican pikas create two types of fecal droppings: a hard brown round pellet and a soft shiny string of material (the caecal pellet).
The page saysIt eats the soft ones or stores them for later.
The source saysPikas consume the caecal pellet (which has high energy value and protein content) or store it for later consumption.
The page saysOnly about 68% of the food it swallows is assimilated (taken up by the body), making those soft pellets an important part of its diet.
The source saysOnly about 68% of the ingested food is assimilated, making the caecal pellets an important part of the American pika's diet.
The page saysA pika is a relative of rabbits and hares, not a rodent.
The source saysOrder Lagomorpha hares, pikas, and rabbits
The page saysIt weighs 121 to 176 grams
The source saysTheir body mass exhibits a great deal of variation and ranges from 121 to 176 grams.
The page saysis 162 to 216 millimetres long
The source saysRange length 162 to 216 mm
The page sayswith short ears, short legs and no visible tail
The source saysTheir body is ovoid, with short ears, long vibrissae (40-77 mm), short limbs, and no visible tail.
The page saysIts body temperature averages 40.1°C
The source saysAmerican pikas have a high body temperature (average of 40.1°C)
The page saysits average upper lethal temperature, the heat that kills it, is 43.1°C
The source saysrelatively low upper lethal temperature (average of 43.1°C)
The page saysPikas live in the mountains of western North America, from British Columbia south to California and New Mexico.
The source saysAmerican pikas can be found throughout the mountainous regions of western North America. Their geographic range extends as far south as New Mexico and California, as far north as British Columbia
The page saysThey favour broken rock beside alpine meadows.
The source saysAmerican pikas inhabit areas of broken rock and talus fields fringed by alpine meadows.
The page saysIn the north they range from sea level to 3,000 metres, while in the south they are rarely found below 2,500 metres.
The source saysIn the northern part of their range, they can be found from sea level to 3,000 meters; however, in the southern part of their range, American pikas are rarely found below 2,500 meters.
The page saysPikas warn their neighbours with alarm calls.
The source saysthey emit an alarm-call informing the rest of the community of its presence
The page saysThese calls usually change in frequency depending on whether the predator is large or small.
The source saysAlarm calls are usually repetitive short calls that change in frequency depending on the type of predator seen (e.g., large vs. small).
The page saysNo. Pikas are lagomorphs, the order that holds rabbits, hares and pikas.
The source saysOrder Lagomorpha hares, pikas, and rabbits
The page saysMostly forbs and shrubs, plus grasses, sedges and its own soft droppings
The source saysIn the summer, American pikas typically eat short alpine grasses.
The page saysa single pile can hold up to 30 plant species
The source saysup to 30 species of plants may be found in a single haypile
The page saysweightKg: 0.15
The source saysTheir body mass exhibits a great deal of variation and ranges from 121 to 176 grams.Note: task #1261; AnAge's 100 g is also Light

Source
02

AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources

AnAge entry for Ochotona princeps. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

The page saysThe maximum recorded lifespan is 7 years, in a captive pika.
The source saysMaximum longevity 7 years (captivity)
The page saysAnAge lists a maximum longevity of 7 years, from a captive pika that was born in the wild. It also notes an estimate of up to 7 years in the wild.
The source saysMaximum longevity 7 years (captivity) ... It has been estimated that these animals live up to 7 years in the wild [ 0573 ]. One wild born captive specimen was about 7 years old when it died in captivity

Source
03

National Park Service

American Pika at Mount Rainier National Park: Keeping an eye on one of Mount Rainier's most climate sensitive species. National Park Service.

The page sayscan be killed by two hours above 28°C
The source saysJust two hours exposure to temperatures above 28°C (82.4°F) can be fatal
The page saysA rabbit relative
The source saysrelated to rabbits and hares
The page saysStacks a winter hay pile in summer instead of hibernating
The source saysPikas do not hibernate and have adapted to survive the cold alpine winters. They collect vegetation including ferns, grasses, herbaceous plants, bits of shrubs, and conifer twigs to create haypiles, which serve as their food source for the winter
The page saysStacking hay for a winter it will not sleep through
The source saysPikas do not hibernate and have adapted to survive the cold alpine winters.
The page saysThe American pika is a small mammal that does not hibernate.
The source saysPikas do not hibernate
The page saysit spends the summer building haypiles, which are stacks of plants it will eat in winter
The source saysThey collect vegetation including ferns, grasses, herbaceous plants, bits of shrubs, and conifer twigs to create haypiles, which serve as their food source for the winter
The page saysA pika is a relative of rabbits and hares, not a rodent.
The source saysa small herbivorous mammal, related to rabbits and hares
The page saysIts thick fur and fast metabolism fight the winter cold but leave it prone to overheating.
The source saysPikas combat freezing winters with thick coats of insulating fur and a high metabolism (Smith and Weston 1990), but this means that pikas are prone to overheating.
The page saysJust two hours above 28°C can be fatal.
The source saysJust two hours exposure to temperatures above 28°C (82.4°F) can be fatal
The page saysPikas mostly live in talus, fields of broken rock and boulders, where the temperature is fairly stable year-round. That lets them keep cool in summer.
The source saysPikas primarily inhabit patches of fragmented rock and boulder fields known as talus. ... The temperature in talus habitat is fairly stable year-round, which allows pikas to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
The page saysRunning out of mountain
The source saysthe total amount of available land area decreases as elevation increases, and suitable talus habitat and vegetation becomes sparse or non-existent, which leaves limited options for pikas to move upslope
The page saysNo. They survive the cold alpine winter without hibernating, living off the haypiles of plants they collected.
The source saysPikas do not hibernate and have adapted to survive the cold alpine winters. They collect vegetation ... to create haypiles, which serve as their food source for the winter
The page saysSmall, furry and prone to overheating
The source saysPikas combat freezing winters with thick coats of insulating fur and a high metabolism (Smith and Weston 1990), but this means that pikas are prone to overheating.
The page saysThe pattern is not the same everywhere.
The source saysAmerican pikas populations are responding differently to climate change in different parts of their range
The page saysAn American pika spends the summer building haypiles for the winter
The source saysThey collect vegetation including ferns, grasses, herbaceous plants, bits of shrubs, and conifer twigs to create haypiles, which serve as their food source for the winter

Source
04

Smith & Beever 2016

Smith & Beever (2016). Ochotona princeps. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41267A45184315.

The page saysLeast Concern
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).Note: Category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List (taxon 41267); the assessment itself is a hand check.
The page saysThe IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).Note: Category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List (taxon 41267).

Source
05

Beever et al. 2011

Beever et al. (2011). Contemporary climate change alters the pace and drivers of extinction. Global Change Biology.

The page saysIn the Great Basin, records from 1898 to 2008 showed that four of ten local pika extinctions had happened since 1999, and that the low edge of their range was moving uphill at an average of about 145 metres per decade.
The source saysusing records from 1898-2008 ... Four of ten local pika extinctions have occurred since 1999, and across this ecoregion the low-elevation range boundary for this species is now moving upslope at an average rate of about 145 m per decadeNote: The Great Basin ecoregion; the abstract describes the 1898-2008 records as spanning the ecoregion.

Source
06

Erb, Ray & Guralnick 2011

Erb, Ray & Guralnick (2011). On the generality of a climate-mediated shift in the distribution of the American pika (Ochotona princeps). Ecology.

The page saysIn the Southern Rocky Mountains, a survey of 69 sites historically occupied by pikas found only four populations lost over the past few decades.
The source saysResults from a survey of 69 sites historically occupied by pikas indicate that only four populations have been extirpated within this region over the past few decades.

Source
07

Varner & Dearing 2014

Varner & Dearing (2014). The Importance of Biologically Relevant Microclimates in Habitat Suitability Assessments. PLoS ONE.

The page saysIn one study at four sites in the Columbia River Gorge, the gaps between rocks at sites with heavy moss cover stayed a steady 6 to 8°C even when the air was over 35°C.
The source saysTemperature data were collected every two hours from June 2012 to June 2014 at four sites in the Columbia River Gorge. ... Even at ambient temperatures over 35°C, interstitial temperatures at sites with high moss cover remained a cool and constant 6–8°CNote: Interstitial = the gaps inside the talus; ambient = air temperature measured on site.

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.