Distribution and Diet of Bison and Pocket Gophers in a Sandhills Prairie

Steuter, Allen A.; Steinauer, Ernest M.; Hill, Graham; Bowers, P. A.; Tieszen, Larry L.

doi:10.2307/1941983

Cited by 48 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…As with most animals, pocket gophers are able to adjust their foraging behavior such that they can increase the proportion of time spent in areas dominated by preferred plant species (Peart 1989;Benedix 1993;Steuter et al 1995) or areas of high plant productivity (Vleck 1981;Tilman 1983;Reichman and Smith 1985;Inouye et al 1987;Hobbs and Atkins 1988;Huntly and Inouye 1988;Wasley 1995). Accordingly, it is likely that the geometry of feeding tunnels on hillslopes is more function of food abundance and quality than of the hillslope angle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of hillslope angle on pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) burrow geometry

Seabloom¹,

Reichman²,

Gabet

2000

Oecologia

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One way for animals to decrease energy expenditures is to minimize the cost of movement. For animals dwelling on slopes, gravity can impart a large energetic cost to movement. For this reason, animals traveling aboveground alter their movement patterns in response to the steepness of terrain (specifically hillslope angle) so as to minimize their energetic costs. Subterranean animals should also benefit from choosing optimum movement paths in relation to hillslopes but concurrently must factor the cost of excavation into their movement decisions. In cases where the excavation costs are much higher than the costs of working against gravity, excavation costs may override the consideration of gravitational costs and movement of subterranean animals may be independent of hillslope angle. To determine the response of a subterranean animal to hillslope angle, we excavated tunnels in the burrow systems of 19 pocket gophers in southern California that occupied hillslopes ranging from 2 to 30°. At each excavation we measured several characteristics of burrow geometry and used these data in a model of pocket gopher energetics to calculate the cost of tunnel construction at the various hillslope angles. We found that the cost of tunnel construction was independent of hillslope angle, and that the costs of shearing soil and pushing soil horizontally through the tunnels were 3 orders of magnitude greater than the costs of lifting the soil against the force of gravity. Accordingly, pocket gopher foraging tunnels were oriented independently of the hillslope. The decoupling of the movement patterns of subterranean animals from the effects of gravity is a distinctive feature of the subterranean habit compared to the movement of aboveground animals. Because of the important effects of tunnel construction on soil processes, this unique biological feature of subterranean animals has implications for basic physical processes, such as soil erosion. We found that the rate of soil flux generated by pocket gopher activity was invariant to hillslope. This relationship is in contrast to the most common model of soil movement generated by purely physical processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of hillslope angle on pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) burrow geometry

Seabloom¹,

Reichman²,

Gabet

2000

Oecologia

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“…Numerous studies have shown that bison preferentially graze grasses over other plants (Meagher 1973 ;Peden et al 1974 ;Schwartz and Ellis 1981 ;Van Vuren and Bray 1983 ;Plumb and Dodd 1993 ;Steuter et al 1995), creating distinct grazed patches within the landscape and altering competitive relationships among grazed and ungrazed plant species Knapp 1993, 1994 ;Catchpole 1996). Bison and other ungulate herbivores also significantly alter nutrient cycling through grazing and other activities (Floate 1981 ;Ruess 1987 ;McNaughton et al 1988 ;Frank et al 1994 ;Frank and Evans 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bison-prairie dog-plant interactions in a North American mixed-grass prairie

Fahnestock

Detling

2002

Oecologia

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Both bison and prairie dogs have multiple and dramatic effects on grassland landscapes and both are considered by many to be keystone herbivores. Numerous studies have documented their independent or combined impact on grassland ecosystem processes, but there have been few attempts to simultaneously assess the individual and interactive effects of bison and prairie dogs where they co-occur. We began a long-term study in late 1994 in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA, to evaluate the ecological consequences of the presence or exclusion of prairie dogs, bison, or both, upon various aspects of plant community dynamics and N cycling. Five different treatments were established at three separate mixed-grass prairie sites in the park: (1) off the prairie dog colony with bison excluded, (2) off colony with continued bison utilization, (3) on colony with bison excluded but continued prairie dog use, (4) on colony with utilization by prairie dogs and bison, and (5) on colony with both excluded. There were few differences in aboveground biomass or plant species composition between the two off-colony treatments or among the three on-colony treatments, even after 3 years of treatment imposition. However, aboveground biomass was >2 times greater in off-colony sites than on-colony sites, primarily due to the near elimination of grasses on prairie dog colonies. Off-colony sites were dominated by a few grass species, resulting in lower plant species diversity, while on-colony sites were dominated by several forb species. Net N mineralization early in the growing season was 4 times greater on prairie dog colonies than at off-colony sites, but all sites exhibited net immobilization by the latter half of the growing season. The results of this study indicate distinct differences in several ecosystem properties between on- and off-colony treatments. Whether these patterns represent relatively stable alternate states or whether distinct changes will emerge in the different herbivore treatments after several additional years is of considerable interest.

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“…To this end, it is compelling to note their documented and current use of sandhills and sandy terrain in Nebraska, Colorado, and Northern Alberta (Soper 1941;Steuter et al 1995;Biondini et al 1999;Schoenecker et al 2006). In fact, many of the documented ecological effects of bison in sandhills are derived from modern experiments involving managed herds in the central Great Plains (e.g.…”

Section: Bison Occupation and Disturbance In Great Plains Sandhillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, many of the documented ecological effects of bison in sandhills are derived from modern experiments involving managed herds in the central Great Plains (e.g. Reinhardt 1985;Steuter et al 1995;Hartnett et al 1996;Nellis and Briggs 1997;Biondini et al 1999;Coppedge et al 1999;Knapp et al 1999;McMillan et al 2000;Schoenecker et al 2006).…”

Section: Bison Occupation and Disturbance In Great Plains Sandhillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While most modern disturbances in Canadian prairie sandhills may be the result of anthropogenic activities (e.g. cultivation, oil and gas extraction) or abiotic effects, such as extreme climatic events, many studies in similar environments have also highlighted pronounced effects from biotic disturbance (England and Devos 1969;Collins and Uno 1983;Gibson 1989;Flores 1991;Steuter et al 1995). In this regard, the tens of millions of bison that roamed the prairies were a major source of historical disturbance, and their extirpation approximately 120 years ago represents the loss of an ecosystem engineer and keystone species (Flores 1991;Jones et al 1994;Knapp et al 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can bison play a role in conserving habitat for endangered sandhills species in Canada?

et al. 2012

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Relative to their cultivated surroundings, sandhills of the Canadian prairies represent intact, heterogeneous ecosystems. These extensive tracts of sand dunes and native prairie are biodiversity hotspots, which act as refugia for a variety of specialized wildlife species. However, due to changes in climate and suppression of natural disturbance, the dunes have experienced drastic rates of stabilization over the past 200 years, such that the proportion of open sand in the region is currently less than 1%. This continuing trend is resulting in a gradual loss of sparsely vegetated, sandy habitat for many uncommon, specialist species, including a number that are considered to be at risk of extirpation or extinction by COSEWIC (Canada's list agency). Without management to conserve active sandhill habitat the future long-term survival of rare and imperilled dunedependent plants and animals is questionable. In this article we propose that the re-introduction of disturbance to southern Canadian prairie sandhills, specifically sandhill use by bison, might be effective in restoring and sustaining actively-eroding sandhill habitat to support some threatened and endangered species. We outline several lines of evidence (geological, geomorphological, archaeological, and historical accounts) indicating bison occupied sandhills and actively modified these ecosystems until European settlement of the prairies. We argue that bison were attracted to sandhills for a number of reasons, and that in great numbers they had considerable influence on sandhills ecosystem functions. Behaviours such as grazing, trailing, wallowing, horning, and trampling created a patchwork mosaic of disturbance effects. We hypothesize that it may be beneficial to reintroduce bison to sandhills ecosystems in the Canadian prairies to restore biodiversity at all levels.

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Distribution and Diet of Bison and Pocket Gophers in a Sandhills Prairie

Cited by 48 publications

References 42 publications

The effect of hillslope angle on pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) burrow geometry

The effect of hillslope angle on pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) burrow geometry

Bison-prairie dog-plant interactions in a North American mixed-grass prairie

Can bison play a role in conserving habitat for endangered sandhills species in Canada?

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