Plague management of prairie dog colonies: degree and duration of deltamethrin flea control

Eads, David A.; Biggins, Dean E.

doi:10.1111/jvec.12327

Cited by 33 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In comparison, little attention has been directed at the positive effect that dry years might have on plague transmission, primarily because dry conditions within a given year are thought to suppress flea vectors, thereby dampening the spread of plague (Parmenter et al , Enscore et al , Snäll et al ). In recent studies of 4 species of prairie dogs in the western United States (Gunnison's [ C. gunnisoni ], white‐tailed [ C. leucurus ], black‐tailed [ C. ludovicianus ], and Utah [ C. parvidens ]; Eads ; Eads and Hoogland , ; Eads et al ) and 2 species of rodents in Inner Mongolia, China (Mongolian gerbils [ Meriones unguiculatus ] and Daurian ground squirrels [ Spermophilus dauricus ]; Eads et al ), flea densities increased during or following years with dry growing seasons. The prevalence of plague in Mongolian gerbils increased during wet years preceded by dry growing seasons (Eads et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In grasslands occupied by prairie dogs, the availability of water and palatable forage are reduced during dry years (Detling , Augustine ). Consequently, prairie dogs can suffer declines in body condition (Facka et al , Eads ). Malnourished prairie dogs appear to exhibit weakened defenses against fleas (e.g., they devote little time to grooming), allowing fleas to increase in abundance (Eads , Eads et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, prairie dogs can suffer declines in body condition (Facka et al , Eads ). Malnourished prairie dogs appear to exhibit weakened defenses against fleas (e.g., they devote little time to grooming), allowing fleas to increase in abundance (Eads , Eads et al ). In some cases, plague might fade out during a dry year.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Degree days is the sum of days per calendar year that reached maximum daily temperatures higher than the threshold 32.2°C. Prairie dog burrows might buffer fleas and Y. pestis from temperatures above ground, but very hot temperatures might still affect these organisms (e.g., when fleas inhabit shallow burrows or prairie dogs carry fleas above ground; Eads ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prairie dogs, however, nest in deep burrows that might buffer fleas and Y. pestis from temperatures above ground (Eads et al ). Indices of soil texture and moisture correlated with flea densities on black‐tailed prairie dogs in New Mexico (Eads ) and soil water‐holding capacity was important in the analysis of Savage () and Savage et al (). In an occupancy model fit using 20 years of data from Pawnee National Grassland, plague epizootics most commonly erupted in large colonies (George et al ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Paltry past‐precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague?

Eads

Biggins

2017

J Wildl Manag

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The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis was introduced to California in 1900 and spread rapidly as a sylvatic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors, invading the Great Plains in the United States by the 1930s to 1940s. In grassland ecosystems, plague causes periodic, devastating epizootics in colonies of black‐tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), sciurid rodents that create and maintain subterranean burrows. In doing so, plague inhibits prairie dogs from functioning as keystone species of grassland communities. The rate at which fleas transmit Y. pestis is thought to increase when fleas are abundant. Flea densities can increase during droughts when vegetative production is reduced and herbivorous prairie dogs are malnourished and have weakened defenses against fleas. Epizootics of plague have erupted frequently in prairie dogs during years in which precipitation was plentiful, and the accompanying cool temperatures might have facilitated the rate at which fleas transmitted Y. pestis. Together these observations evoke the hypothesis that transitions from dry‐to‐wet years provide conditions for plague epizootics in prairie dogs. Using generalized linear models, we analyzed a 24‐year dataset on the occurrence of plague epizootics in 42 colonies of prairie dogs from Colorado, USA, 1982–2005. Of the 33 epizootics observed, 52% erupted during years with increased precipitation in summer. For the years with increased summer precipitation, if precipitation in the prior growing season declined from the maximum of 502 mm to the minimum of 200 mm, the prevalence of plague epizootics was predicted to increase 3‐fold. Thus, reduced precipitation may have predisposed prairie dogs to plague epizootics when moisture returned. Biologists sometimes assume dry conditions are detrimental for plague. However, 48% of epizootics occurred during years in which precipitation was scarce in summer. In some cases, an increased abundance of fleas during dry years might compensate for other conditions that become less favorable for plague transmission. Global warming is forecasted to amplify the hydrological cycle in the Great Plains, causing an increased occurrence of prolonged droughts interceded by brief periods of intense precipitation. Results herein suggest these changes might affect plague cycles in prairie dogs. Both negative and positive consequences of dry conditions should be considered when managing plague. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paltry past‐precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague?

Eads

Biggins

2017

J Wildl Manag

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Disease and weather induce rapid shifts in a rangeland ecosystem mediated by a keystone species (Cynomys ludovicianus)

Duchardt

Augustine

Porensky

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Habitat loss and changing climate have direct impacts on native species but can also interact with disease pathogens to influence wildlife communities. In the North American Great Plains, black‐tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are a keystone species that create important grassland habitat for numerous species and serve as prey for predators, but lethal control driven by agricultural conflict has severely reduced their abundance. Novel disease dynamics caused by epizootic plague (Yersinia pestis) within prairie dog colonies have further reduced prairie dog abundances, in turn destabilizing associated wildlife communities. We capitalized on a natural experiment, collecting data on prairie dog distributions, vegetation structure, avian abundance, and mesocarnivore and ungulate occupancy before (2015–2017) and after (2018–2019) a plague event in northeastern Wyoming, USA. Plague decimated black‐tailed prairie dog populations in what was then the largest extant colony complex, reducing colony cover in the focal area from more than 10,000 ha to less than 50 ha. We documented dramatic declines in mesocarnivore occupancy and raptor abundance post‐plague, with probability of occupancy or abundance approaching zero in species that rely on prairie dogs for a high proportion of their diet (e.g., ferruginous hawk [Buteo regalis], American badger [Taxidea taxus], and swift fox [Vulpes velox]). Following the plague outbreak, abnormally high precipitation in 2018 hastened vegetation recovery from prairie dog disturbance on colonies in which constant herbivory had formerly maintained shortgrass structure necessary for certain colony‐associates. As a result, we observed large shifts in avian communities on former prairie dog colonies, including near‐disappearance of mountain plovers (Charadrius montanus) and increases in mid‐grass associated songbirds (e.g., lark bunting [Calamospiza melanocorys]). Our research highlights how precipitation can interact with disease‐induced loss of a keystone species to induce drastic and rapid shifts in wildlife communities. Although grassland taxa have co‐evolved with high spatiotemporal variation, fragmentation of the remaining North American rangelands paired with higher‐than‐historical variability in climate and disease dynamics are likely to destabilize these systems in the future.

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A big data–model integration approach for predicting epizootics and population recovery in a keystone species

Barrile

Augustine

Porensky

et al. 2023

Ecological Applications

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Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to global health and biodiversity.Yet, predicting the spatiotemporal dynamics of wildlife epizootics remains challenging. Disease outbreaks result from complex nonlinear interactions among a large collection of variables that rarely adhere to the assumptions of parametric regression modeling. We adopted a nonparametric machine learning approach to model wildlife epizootics and population recovery, using the disease system of colonial black-tailed prairie dogs (BTPD, Cynomys ludovicianus) and sylvatic plague as an example. We synthesized colony data between 2001 and 2020 from eight USDA Forest Service National Grasslands across the range of BTPDs in central North America. We then modeled extinctions due to plague and colony recovery of BTPDs in relation to complex interactions among climate, topoedaphic variables, colony characteristics, and disease history. Extinctions due to plague occurred more frequently when BTPD colonies were spatially clustered, in closer proximity to colonies decimated by plague during the previous year, following cooler than average temperatures the previous summer, and when wetter winter/springs were preceded by drier summers/falls. Rigorous cross-validations and spatial predictions indicated that our final models predicted plague outbreaks and colony recovery in BTPD with high accuracy (e.g., AUC generally >0.80). Thus, these spatially explicit models can reliably predict the spatial and temporal dynamics of wildlife epizootics and subsequent population recovery in a highly complex host-pathogen system. Our models can be used to support strategic management planning (e.g., plague mitigation) to optimize benefits of this keystone species to associated wildlife communities and ecosystem functioning. This optimization can reduce conflicts among different landowners and resource managers, as well as economic losses to the ranching industry. More broadly, our big data-model integration approach provides a general framework for

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Plague management of prairie dog colonies: degree and duration of deltamethrin flea control

Cited by 33 publications

References 17 publications

Paltry past‐precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague?

Paltry past‐precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague?

Disease and weather induce rapid shifts in a rangeland ecosystem mediated by a keystone species (Cynomys ludovicianus)

A big data–model integration approach for predicting epizootics and population recovery in a keystone species

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