What if anything is a burrowing pika

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Pictures lagomorph specialist group, V. Retzer

• What - if anything - is a burrowing pika?
• Evolution of life history strategies in pikas.
• Karin Nadrowski
• Nadrowski_at_bio.uni-giessen.de
• Institute for Animal Ecology
• Justus Liebig Universität Gießen
• Evolutionary Biology Meeting, Bayreuth 24.2.2007

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Environment and life history

• The study of life histories is a search for
  patterns, including patterns between life history
  traits and features of the habitats in which the
  life histories are found.

Begon et al. 1996 Ecology Individuals,
Populations and Communities
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Non-equilibrium theory

Wiens 1984 Ecological communities Conceptual
issues and processes
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Life history traits of pikas
Smith 1988 Evolution of life histories of
mammals, Smith et al. 1990 Rabbits, hares and
pikas
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Pika evolution

• 3.4 Myr uplift of Tibet Plateau
• 2.5 Myr uplift, monsoons, glaciers
• 2.4 Myr group divergence in pikas
• 2.1 Myr American pika
• 1.6 Myr uplift
• 1.2 Myr uplift, deserts develop
• 1.2 Myr cansus /annectens
• 1.2 Myr nubrica / curzoniae

burrowing
intermediate
Yu et al. 2000, Molecular Phylogenetics and
Evolution
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Habitat characteristics
Gliwicz et al 2005 J. of Zoology, Nadrowski and
Miehe in press Expl. into the Biol. Res. of
Mongolia, Smith 1988 Evolution of life histories
of mammals, Smith et al. 1990 Rabbits, hares
and pikas, Wang et al. 2000 Acta Theriologica
Sinica, Yu et al. 2000, Molecular Phylogenetics
and Evolution, etc.
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Population dynamics
Gliwicz et al 2005 J. of Zoology, Nadrowski and
Miehe in press Expl. into the Biol. Res. of
Mongolia, Smith 1988 Evolution of life histories
of mammals, Smith et al. 1990 Rabbits, hares
and pikas, Wang et al. 2000 Acta Theriologica
Sinica, Yu et al. 2000, Molecular Phylogenetics
and Evolution, etc.
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Vocalisation
Gliwicz et al 2005 J. of Zoology, Nadrowski and
Miehe in press Expl. into the Biol. Res. of
Mongolia, Smith 1988 Evolution of life histories
of mammals, Smith et al. 1990 Rabbits, hares
and pikas, Wang et al. 2000 Acta Theriologica
Sinica, Yu et al. 2000, Molecular Phylogenetics
and Evolution, etc.
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Body contacts
Gliwicz et al 2005 J. of Zoology, Nadrowski and
Miehe in press Expl. into the Biol. Res. of
Mongolia, Smith 1988 Evolution of life histories
of mammals, Smith et al. 1990 Rabbits, hares
and pikas, Wang et al. 2000 Acta Theriologica
Sinica, Yu et al. 2000, Molecular Phylogenetics
and Evolution, etc.
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Territoriality
Gliwicz et al 2005 J. of Zoology, Nadrowski and
Miehe in press Expl. into the Biol. Res. of
Mongolia, Smith 1988 Evolution of life histories
of mammals, Smith et al. 1990 Rabbits, hares
and pikas, Wang et al. 2000 Acta Theriologica
Sinica, Yu et al. 2000, Molecular Phylogenetics
and Evolution, etc.
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Conclusion

• Life history strategies match phylogenetic groups
• Habitat characteristics and modern climatic
  variation cannot explain life history variation
• Past environmental variability (2 Myr) may be
  responsible for more social and opportunistic
  pikas in the shrub-steppe group.

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Thank you

• V. Retzer, K. Wesche,
• G. Miehe, T. Monkhzul,
• M. Ferreri, V. Wolters
• Faculty of Biology, Mongolian State University,
  Faculty of Geography, Philipps University
  Marburg, Institute for Animal Ecology, Liebig
  University Gießen
• German Academic Exchange, German Science
  Foundation, German Ministry of Economic
  Cooperation (BMZ)