Demographic Differences Between an Old and a New Colony of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)

Garrett, Monte G.; Hoogland, John L.; Franklin, William L.

doi:10.2307/2425291

Cited by 61 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While little is known about the landscape-scale dynamics of black-tailed prairie dog colonies prior to European settlement, studies conducted outside the current distribution of plague indicate that colonies can remain in the same approximate location for several decades to several centuries (Garrett et al 1982;Knowles and Knowles 1994;Carlson and White 1987). Locations of colony boundaries may be constrained by topography and soil types (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Collins and Barber (1985) described prairie dog disturbance as continuous, but did not specify a time frame. Some studies suggest prairie dogs may have a natural impetus to relocate due to changes in vegetative characteristics that develop over multiple decades of prairie dog occupancy (Garrett and Franklin 1988;Cincotta 1985;Garrett, et al 1982), but little is known about the landscape-scale dynamics of colonies prior to European settlement of central North America. This lack of information may be due in part to the wide range of anthropogenic factors which have dramatically affected prairie dog colonies since European settlement (Miller and Cully 2001;Lomolino and Smith 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This lack of information may be due in part to the wide range of anthropogenic factors which have dramatically affected prairie dog colonies since European settlement (Miller and Cully 2001;Lomolino and Smith 2001). An additional factor may be the paucity of information on non-anthropogenic factors leading to colony declines or extirpations, and the multi-decade to century time scales over which individual prairie dog colonies can persist (Garrett et al 1982;Carlson and White 1987;Knowles and Knowles 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Spatiotemporal dynamics of black-tailed prairie dog colonies affected by plague

Augustine¹,

Matchett

Toombs

et al. 2007

Landscape Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are a key component of the disturbance regime in semi-arid grasslands of central North America. Many studies have compared community and ecosystem characteristics on prairie dog colonies to grasslands without prairie dogs, but little is known about landscape-scale patterns of disturbance that prairie dog colony complexes may impose on grasslands over long time periods. We examined spatiotemporal dynamics in two prairie dog colony complexes in southeastern Colorado (Comanche) and northcentral Montana (Phillips County) that have been strongly influenced by plague, and compared them to a complex unaffected by plague in northwestern Nebraska (Oglala). Both plague-affected complexes exhibited substantial spatiotemporal variability in the area occupied during a decade, in contrast to the stability of colonies in the Oglala complex. However, the plague-affected complexes differed in spatial patterns of colony movement. Colonies in the Comanche complex in shortgrass steppe shifted locations over a decade. Only 10% of the area occupied in 1995 was still occupied by prairie dogs in 2006. In 2005 and 2006 respectively, 74 and 83% of the total area of the Comanche complex occurred in locations that were not occupied in 1995, and only 1% of the complex was occupied continuously over a decade. In contrast, prairie dogs in the Phillips County complex in mixed-grass prairie and sagebrush steppe primarily recolonized previously occupied areas after plague-induced colony declines. In Phillips County, 62% of the area occupied in 1993 was also occupied by prairie dogs in 2004, and 12% of the complex was occupied continuously over a decade. Our results indicate that plague accelerates spatiotemporal movement of prairie dog colonies, and have significant implications for The U.S. Government's right to retain a non-exclusive, royaltyfree license in and to any copyright is acknowledged. 123Landscape Ecol (2008) 23:255-267 DOI 10.1007 landscape-scale effects of prairie dog disturbance on grassland composition and productivity. These findings highlight the need to combine landscape-scale measures of habitat suitability with long-term measures of colony locations to understand the role of plague-affected prairie dogs as a grassland disturbance process.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatiotemporal dynamics of black-tailed prairie dog colonies affected by plague

Augustine¹,

Matchett

Toombs

et al. 2007

Landscape Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although age ratios did not change after plague, antibody development was higher among adults; all but one adult showed antibodies to Y. pestis, whereas only one juvenile developed antibodies. Because juveniles do not immigrate (Garrett and Franklin, 1988), most juveniles must have avoided plague by occupying uninfected regions of the colony. Cully et al (1997) found similar effects of plague in the Gunnison's prairie dog; colonies were extirpated or reduced by 99%, and roughly half of the survivors developed antibodies to Y. pestis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, following the population crash, intraspecific competition for forage should have decreased, providing the few survivors better access to food, resulting in improved body condition. Whatever the underlying mechanism, colonies supporting large healthy individuals should grow more quickly because large prairie dogs reach sexual maturity at a younger age, produce larger litters, and exhibit better over-winter survival (Garrett et al, 1982;Rayor, 1985b). The role of healthy survivors should not be discounted in colony recovery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Plague Epizootic in the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus)

Pauli

Buskirk

Williams

et al. 2006

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT:Plague is the primary cause for the rangewide decline in prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) distribution and abundance, yet our knowledge of plague dynamics in prairie dog populations is limited. Our understanding of the effects of plague on the most widespread species, the blacktailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus), is particularly weak. During a study on the population biology of black-tailed prairie dogs in Wyoming, USA, plague was detected in a colony under intensive monitoring, providing a unique opportunity to quantify various consequences of plague. The epizootic reduced juvenile abundance by 96% and adult abundance by 95%. Of the survivors, eight of nine adults and one of eight juveniles developed antibodies to Yersinia pestis. Demographic groups appeared equally susceptible to infection, and age structure was unaffected. Survivors occupied three small coteries and exhibited improved body condition, but increased flea infestation compared to a neighboring, uninfected colony. Black-tailed prairie dogs are capable of surviving a plague epizootic and reorganizing into apparently functional coteries. Surviving prairie dogs may be critical in the repopulation of plague-decimated colonies and, ultimately, the evolution of plague resistance.

show abstract

Disturbance and the (surprising?) role of ecosystem engineering in explaining spatial patterns of non‐native plant establishment

Root‐Bernstein

Muñoz

Armestó

2021

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Different conceptions of disturbance differ in the degree to which they appeal to mechanisms that are general and equivalent, or species‐, functional group‐, or interaction‐specific. Some concepts of disturbance, for example, predict that soil disturbances and herbivory have identical impacts on species richness via identical mechanisms (reduction in biomass and in competition). An alternative hypothesis is that the specific traits of disturbance agents (small mammals) and plants differentially affect the richness or abundance of different plant groups. We tested these hypotheses on a degu (Octodon degus) colony in central Chile. We ask whether native and non‐native forbs respond differently to degu bioturbation on runways versus herbivory on grazing lawns. We ask whether this can explain the increase in non‐native plants on degu colonies. We found that biopedturbation did not explain the locations of non‐native plants. We did not find direct evidence of grazing increasing non‐native herbs either, but a grazing effect appears to be mediated by grass, which is the dominant cover. Further, we provide supplementary evidence to support our interpretation that a key mechanism of non‐native spread is the formation of dry soil conditions on grazing lawns. Thus, ecosystem engineering (alteration of soil qualities) may be an outcome of disturbances, in which each interacts with specific plant traits, to create the observed pattern of non‐native spread in the colony. Based on these results, we propose to extend Jentsch and White (Ecology, 100, 2019, e02734) concept of combined pulse/ disturbance events to the long‐term process duality of ecosystem engineering/ disturbance.

show abstract

Demographic Differences Between an Old and a New Colony of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)

Cited by 61 publications

References 12 publications

Spatiotemporal dynamics of black-tailed prairie dog colonies affected by plague

Spatiotemporal dynamics of black-tailed prairie dog colonies affected by plague

A Plague Epizootic in the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus)

Disturbance and the (surprising?) role of ecosystem engineering in explaining spatial patterns of non‐native plant establishment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About