Observations of cattle use of prairie dog towns

Guenther, Debra; Detling, James K.

doi:10.2458/azu_jrm_v56i5_guenther

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…All research occurred in pastures with no known history of crop cultivation. Pastures were grazed by cattle at moderate stocking rates (~0.60 animal unit months Á ha À1 ) each year from 15 May to 1 October, where an animal unit month was defined as the equivalent of a 454-kg livestock unit grazing for 30 d. Previous work showed that cattle at this site graze on prairie dog colonies in proportion to their availability within the landscape (Guenther and Detling 2003).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing for Thresholds in a Semiarid Grassland: The Influence of Prairie Dogs and Plague

Augustine

Derner

Detling

2014

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing for Thresholds in a Semiarid Grassland: The Influence of Prairie Dogs and Plague

Augustine

Derner

Detling

2014

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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“…All sites have been grazed by cattle during the growing season since about 1940. Within the PNG, pastures are grazed at ‘moderate’ rates averaging 1·74 ha per cow per month (Guenther & Detling 2003). Actual grazing intensity varies among pastures because cattle are privately owned and managed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Actual grazing intensity varies among pastures because cattle are privately owned and managed. Each colony was near enough to its reference site to be grazed by the same herd of cattle, and cattle appear not to prefer or avoid grazing on prairie dog colonies (Guenther & Detling 2003). In 2004, one of the old colonies experienced a plague epizootic and was not sampled that year, and a suitable replacement site was not available.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At each coordinate, we estimated canopy cover of each plant species, bare ground and litter within a 0·2 × 0·5 m sampling frame (Daubenmire 1959). We also estimated mean canopy height by balancing a light styrofoam plank (0·2 × 0·5 × 0·005 m) atop the canopy and measuring the height of the plank through a hole cut in its centre (Guenther & Detling 2003). These data were gathered both early (May/June) and late (July/August) in the growing seasons of 2002 and 2003.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Introduced plague lessens the effects of an herbivorous rodent on grassland vegetation

Hartley

Detling

Savage

2009

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary1. Plague, introduced from Eurasia around 1900, today affects many animal species in the western part of North America, including black-tailed prairie dogs Cynomys ludovicianus, widespread colonial herbivores of the Central Plains. Most studies of introduced diseases describe how they affect susceptible individuals or populations. We examined the indirect community and ecosystem-level effects of plague to address the hypothesis that frequent plague epizootics have a mediating effect on the important role of prairie dogs in shaping grassland plant communities. 2. We used 25 years of spatially explicit monitoring data on the Pawnee National Grassland (Colorado, USA) to estimate frequency of plague epizootics in prairie dog colonies. We also examined plant community characteristics of young (3-8 years), old (20 years) and plague-extirpated (7-12 years when extirpated) colonies intermittently to determine how colony age and status (active or inactive) influence the effects of prairie dogs on plant communities.3. Approximately 98% of colonies experienced a plague epizootic within 15 years of continuous activity, nearly half remained inactive for at least 5 years following an epizootic, and less than half attained their pre-plague area within 10 years of an epizootic. 4. Prairie dogs lowered plant canopy height, reduced plant biomass and altered plant community composition. These effects were most pronounced for older colonies. Plague-extirpated colonies were not significantly different from their associated off-colony sites for most variables measured. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our work shows that introduced diseases can indirectly affect community-and ecosystem-level processes through their modification of host species dynamics. Frequent epizootics that lessen the effects of prairie dogs on vegetation probably affect colony-associated species and grassland food webs. Over 100 animal species are associated with prairie dog colonies because prairie dogs are an important food source and their colonies provide habitat. Prairie dogs are considered competitors with livestock for forage and are exterminated on private lands at considerable expense to ranchers. Extermination may be unwarranted and cost-ineffective where plague exists because of the high frequency of plague epizootics.

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“…We visually estimated the cover of each species to the nearest 1.0%. Canopy height was measured by placing a lightweight Styrofoam board (20 £ 30 cm) over the Daubenmire frame and measuring the height from the ground to the center of the board (Guenther and Detling 2003).…”

Section: Vegetation Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive disturbance effects of two disparate ecosystem engineers in North American shortgrass steppe

Alba-Lynn

Detling

2008

Oecologia

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Disturbances such as fire, grazing, and soil mixing by animals interact to shape vegetation in grassland ecosystems. Animal-generated disturbances are unique in that they arise from a suite of behaviors that are themselves subject to modification by external factors. The manner in which co-occurring animal taxa interact to alter vegetation is a function of their respective behaviors, which shape the characteristics (e.g., the magnitude or extent) of their disturbances. To determine whether prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) and harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) interactively alter vegetation structure and heterogeneity on the Colorado shortgrass steppe, we characterized the size, dispersion, and vegetation of prairie dog burrow mounds and ant nests (located on and off prairie dog colonies) and vegetation growing beyond mound and nest perimeters. Ants located on prairie dog colonies engineered significantly larger nests and disturbed nearly twice as much total soil area as their off-colony counterparts. Ant nests were overdispersed both on and off prairie dog colonies, while prairie dog mounds were randomly dispersed. Where harvester ants and prairie dogs co-occur, the overdispersed pattern of on-colony ant nests is in effect "overlaid" onto the random pattern of prairie dog mounds, resulting in a unique, aggregated pattern of soil disturbance. Ant nests on prairie dog colonies had significantly less vegetation and lower plant species diversity than did prairie dog mounds, while off-colony nests were similar to mounds. These results suggest that ant nests are more highly disturbed when located on prairie dog colonies. Beyond nests proper, ants did not appear to alter vegetation in a manner distinct from prairie dogs. As such, the interactive effects of prairie dogs and ants on vegetation arise mainly from the disturbance characteristics of mounds and nests proper.

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Observations of cattle use of prairie dog towns

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

Testing for Thresholds in a Semiarid Grassland: The Influence of Prairie Dogs and Plague

Testing for Thresholds in a Semiarid Grassland: The Influence of Prairie Dogs and Plague

Introduced plague lessens the effects of an herbivorous rodent on grassland vegetation

Interactive disturbance effects of two disparate ecosystem engineers in North American shortgrass steppe

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