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Mammal Study
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Abstract
Abstract.
The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), a small burrowing lagomorph that occupies the high alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), has been subject to a massive eradication campaign in China since the late 1950′s under the assumption that it promotes grassland degradation. However, mounting evidence suggests that pikas are a keystone species that provide critical ecological services in the alpine meadow ecosystem. Since the implementation of pika control programs, few studies have investigated the potential impacts of pika poisoning on native carnivore species. In 2007 we investigated the impact of pika poisoning on carnivores in southern Qinghai Province, China. Our results show a decrease in the abundance of carnivores from areas where pikas had been poisoned compared with non-poisoned sites, suggesting that the eradication of pikas at regional scales may alter or disrupt ecological communities on the QTP.
Badingqiuying thanks the United Board for Christian Higher Education for financially supporting his Master's degree program at Miriam College, the Philippines, upon which this study is based. We would also like to thank the local pastoralists A'gya, Balchen Namgyal, Chulen Wuzer, Duder, and Senghe Gyaltsen, for helping us with logistics and assistance in the field. We express deep gratitude to Dr. Kevin Stuart for his tireless support and encouragement of Tibetan students.
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