抄録
Presence of the Japanese pika (Ochotona hyperborea yesoensis) around a lakeside tunnel near Lake Shikaribetsu in the Mt. Daisetsu National Park was assessed using the presence of feces, hay piles, feeding remains, vocalization, and interviews with local people. The study was conducted from September to October in 1997 and from July to September in 1998. Old feces and hay piles, indicating that pikas had lived in the area searched were present, but no fresh signs confirming the present distribution of pikas were found. It is concluded that the pika population in the area disappeared during or after tunnel construction completed in 1994. Tunnel construction seems to seriously damage the habitat of pikas within at least a 200m radius from the tunnel. A tunnel plan for the Shihoro Heights Road is considered incompatible with the conservation of pika.
