page_title: Ecology of the Rocky Mountains
section_title: White-tailed ptarmigans
hierarchical_section_title: Ecology of the Rocky Mountains / Fauna / Birds / White-tailed ptarmigans
caption_attribution_description: White-tailed Ptarmigan, Rocky Mountains, Alberta
context_page_description: The ecology of the Rocky Mountains is diverse due to the effects of a variety of environmental factors. The Rocky Mountains are the major mountain range in western North America, running from the far north of British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the southwestern United States, climbing from the Great Plains at or below 1,800 feet to peaks of over 14,000 feet. Temperature and rainfall varies greatly also and thus the Rockies are home to a mixture of habitats including the alpine, subalpine and boreal habitats of the Northern Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and Alberta, the coniferous forests of Montana and Idaho, the wetlands and prairie where the Rockies meet the plains, a different mix of conifers on the Yellowstone Plateau in Wyoming and in the high Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico, and finally the alpine tundra of the highest elevations.
context_section_description: White-tailed ptarmigans have been monitored in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, since 1966. Short-term population cycles are well documented in populations that are not hunted but not in populations outside the park, which are hunted. Although detailed population size data are available from more than 28 years of monitoring, scant information is available on habitat change, predator populations, or other potential causes of change in ptarmigan populations. In the park, the population seems to be increasing. A 2-year study revealed lower ptarmigan densities where elk use was greater, although characteristics of willow, which is ptarmigan habitat, did not significantly differ in the high- and low-use elk sites. Furthermore, a 2-year study of ptarmigan habitat cannot explain 28-year trends in population size. Habitat loss and other factors partly responsible for ptarmigan deaths—such as predation and competition—were not studied during the 28-year period.
caption: White-tailed ptarmigan in Alberta
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