Estimated Areal Extent of Colonies of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs in the Northern Great Plains

Sidle, John G.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Euliss, Betty R.

doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2001)082<0928:eaeoco>2.0.co;2

Cited by 21 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Many vertebrates generally considered to be town associates are species of special concern, including several members of the grassland bird assemblage: burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), mountain plover, golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis), Swainson's hawk (B. swainsoni), prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus), lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), and long-billed curlew (Butts 1976;Knowles et al 1982;Allison et al 1995;Desmond et al 1995;Barko et al 1999). In addition, numerous non-volant terrestrial vertebrates of conservation concern are positively associated with prairie dog towns, including tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum), prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis), ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata), black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) and swift fox (Vulpes velox) (Tyler 1968;Agnew et al 1986;Shackford and Tyler 1991;Sidle et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black-tailed prairie dogs and the structure of avian communities on the shortgrass plains

Smith

Lomolino

2004

Oecologia

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We tested the hypothesis that black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) influence avian community structure on the shortgrass prairie. We surveyed 36 prairie dog towns and 36 paired sites without prairie dogs during summer and fall of 1997, 1998, and 1999 in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Our surveys totaled 9,040 individual observations for 73 avian species. Significantly distinct avian communities were present on prairie dog towns when compared to sites within four different macrohabitats of the surrounding landscape: open rangeland, scrub/sandsage (Artemisia filifolia) habitats, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) plots, and fallow crop fields. Relative densities of all bird species combined was higher on prairie dog towns versus paired sites in summer and fall. Mean species richness of birds was significantly higher on prairie dog towns than paired sites during summer, but there were no significant differences in fall. Open rangeland had the highest mean species richness in fall. Assemblages of avian communities differed significantly between prairie dog towns and the four macrohabitat types during summer. Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), killdeer (Charadrius vociferous), horned larks (Eremophila alpestris), and meadowlarks (Sturnella spp.) were positively and significantly associated with prairie dog towns during summer, while horned larks and ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) were significantly associated with prairie dog towns during fall. Even in their current remnant state, black-tailed prairie dogs continue to play a significant role in the assembly of ecological communities across the Great Plains. Conservation of prairie dogs goes well beyond a single species, and is an important strategy for the preservation of the prairie ecosystem as a whole.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black-tailed prairie dogs and the structure of avian communities on the shortgrass plains

Smith

Lomolino

2004

Oecologia

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“…20 000 km 2 ) were mapped by the US Forest Service, Badlands National Park and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (Biggins et al . ; Sidle, Johnson & Euliss ; Cooper & Gabriel ; see Appendix S1 in Supporting Information). We used the union of the mapped polygon boundaries from all surveys between 1996 and 2009 to define the spatial extent of all distinct prairie dog colonies within the Conata Basin (area of known black‐footed ferret occupancy; Biggins et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of prey metapopulation structure on the viability of black‐footed ferrets in plague‐impacted landscapes: a metamodelling approach

Shoemaker

Lacy

Verant

et al. 2014

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Species interactions have been largely ignored in extinction risk assessment. However, the black‐footed ferret Mustela nigripes exemplifies a class of endangered species for which strong species interactions cannot be ignored. This species is an obligate predator of prairie dogs Cynomys spp., and sylvatic plague Yersinia pestis epizootics threaten to undermine recovery efforts by functionally eliminating the prey base. Multispecies ‘metamodelling’ techniques offer new opportunities for exploring population dynamics under strong species interdependencies and disease. To investigate ferret extinction risk in plague‐affected landscapes, we simultaneously modelled plague epidemiological processes, prairie dog metapopulation dynamics and ferret demographic responses. Ferret population dynamics were investigated at an important release site (Conata Basin in South Dakota) and for 500 artificial prey landscapes spanning a wide range of realistic colony configurations (e.g. total area, # colonies, spatial clustering) and demographic characteristics. Our simulation models indicate that ferrets are unlikely to persist through episodes of plague at Conata Basin unless they can access prey resources from a wider region or unless management actions can otherwise substantially reduce plague transmission. We show that large, diffuse prairie dog metapopulations (those with colonies spread over a region >2500 km2) are most likely to support ferret populations in plague‐affected landscapes. Our results also highlight the potential importance of metapopulation connectivity in fuelling plague epizootics and thereby imperilling black‐footed ferret conservation efforts. We describe a cycle (c. 5‐ to 25‐year period) of plague‐driven population crashes that is an emergent property of our models, and which can destabilize ferret populations. Synthesis and applications. On the basis of our models, we conclude that few North American prairie dog complexes cover sufficient land area to sustain black‐footed ferret populations through plague‐driven crashes in prey abundance. Consequently, our results underscore the importance of working with many constituents to conserve large prairie dog landscapes in addition to continued development of plague mitigation tools. In addition, the strong relationship between plague‐induced oscillatory prey cycles and predator population persistence highlights the potential conservation benefits of imposing strategic barriers to connectivity in areas over which plague outbreak cycles are strongly synchronous.

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“…Aerial transect surveys have employed Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in aircraft to record proximal and distal points where aerial transects intercepted prairie dog colony sites (hereafter, an aerial intercept [Fig. 1]; Sidle et al 2001, White et al 2005, Odell et al 2008). The ratio between the lengths of aerial intercepts of colonies and total intercept surveyed yields an estimate of the proportion of area occupied by colonies.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Directly estimating numbers or density of individuals of black‐tailed prairie dogs (prairie dogs hereafter) is difficult because an unknown proportion of animals are underground at any time (Biggins et al 2006). However, prairie dogs excavate burrows with entrances surrounded by conspicuous mounds of soil up to 1 m high and 3 m wide that can be readily identified from the air (Sidle et al 2001, White et al 2005). Line intercepts of areas of burrows or direct mapping of such areas are often used to estimate the extent of prairie dog colonies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerial surveys adjusted by ground surveys to estimate area occupied by black‐tailed prairie dog colonies

Sidle

Augustine

Johnson

et al. 2012

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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Aerial surveys using line‐intercept methods are one approach to estimate the extent of prairie dog colonies in a large geographic area. Although black‐tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) construct conspicuous mounds at burrow openings, aerial observers have difficulty discriminating between areas with burrows occupied by prairie dogs (colonies) versus areas of uninhabited burrows (uninhabited colony sites). Consequently, aerial line‐intercept surveys may overestimate prairie dog colony extent unless adjusted by an on‐the‐ground inspection of a sample of intercepts. We compared aerial line‐intercept surveys conducted over 2 National Grasslands in Colorado, USA, with independent ground‐mapping of known black‐tailed prairie dog colonies. Aerial line‐intercepts adjusted by ground surveys using a single activity category adjustment overestimated colonies by ≥94% on the Comanche National Grassland and ≥58% on the Pawnee National Grassland. We present a ground‐survey technique that involves 1) visiting on the ground a subset of aerial intercepts classified as occupied colonies plus a subset of intercepts classified as uninhabited colony sites, and 2) based on these ground observations, recording the proportion of each aerial intercept that intersects a colony and the proportion that intersects an uninhabited colony site. Where line‐intercept techniques are applied to aerial surveys or remotely sensed imagery, this method can provide more accurate estimates of black‐tailed prairie dog abundance and trends. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Estimated Areal Extent of Colonies of Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs in the Northern Great Plains

Cited by 21 publications

References 16 publications

Black-tailed prairie dogs and the structure of avian communities on the shortgrass plains

Black-tailed prairie dogs and the structure of avian communities on the shortgrass plains

Effects of prey metapopulation structure on the viability of black‐footed ferrets in plague‐impacted landscapes: a metamodelling approach

Aerial surveys adjusted by ground surveys to estimate area occupied by black‐tailed prairie dog colonies

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