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Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) excavate subsoil from black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) burrows and deposit it in unique piles. Black-tailed prairie dogs tend to fill in or "plug" burrows visited or occupied by ferrets (Hillman 1968, Henderson et al. 1969, Fortenbery 1972). In this paper, we describe the configuration, rate of production, persistence, and seasonality of ferret diggings and rate of burrow plugging by prairie dogs within white-tailed prairie dog (C. leucurus) colonies. Published in Journal of Wildlife Management, volume 48, issue 4, on pages 1441 - 1444, in 1984.
Artemisia tridentata has increased dramatically during the past 100 yr throughout the sagebrush steppe at the expense of late-seral perennial grasses. This study was designed to determine the effects of addition or depletion of different nitrogen forms on aboveground vegetative and reproductive growth of Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis and Stipa thurberiana, a late-seral grass. Treatments included application of sugar (45 g m-2), nitrate (4.5 g N m-2), ammonium (4.5 g N m-2) and a control. Both nitrogen forms significantly increased Stipa aboveground biomass and tiller density. Individual tiller weight was not different among treatments. Added nitrogen also increased aboveground biomass, total shoot density...
A population estimate of whipsnakes, Masticophis t. taeniatus, utilizing communal hibernacula at Lone Rock, Tooele County, Utah, was made by taking samples in autumn 1973 and in spring 1974. The number of whipsnakes using this site was estimated by various methods to be 425-543. Confidence limits for the Lincoln Index were 276-618. Estimates of postdispersal density ranged from 0.15-0.22 whipsnake/ha and 17.7-26 g/ha. Whipsnakes used at least three separate dens at this location, differing from other sites where only one den per den complex is used. Age structure appeared equally balanced among various age groups older than 1 year old, and the latter was underrepresented. Sex ratios were significantly biased toward...
A study was conducted from July 1965 to September 1966 on the biology of Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni gunnisoni) in South Park, Park Co., Colorado. Prairie dogs within the colony were loosely organized into clans with adult females playing the major role in caring for the young and! warning of danger. Clan boundaries were not patrolled or defended by clan members, but individual burrows, burrow systems or food supplies were protected by individual animals. Little aggression was observed within the clans but members of different clans would engage in disputes when they encountered each other in the common feeding areas. Females had a high ratio of successful pregnancies or uterine implantation sites,...
Age structure data from eight stands of Artemisia tridentata Nutt. In southern British Columbia are compared to local climatic records by stepwise multiple regression. Climatic variables appear to account for between 40% and 50% of the age structure variance, after correction for adult mortality. Recruitment failure in this species may result from drought or heavy rain in autumn, leading to low seed crops, or from high seeding mortality which may be related to low spring temperatures, summer drought, or high autumn and low winter temperatures. Estimates of the spatial pattern of average establishment success are derived using the predictive equations from the regression analyses, and mean climatic data from regional...
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This study addressed the initial effects of a reintroduction of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) on resident small mammal and plant communities on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR), New Mexico. In spring 1997, 60 prairie dogs (36.8 kg live mass) were introduced onto a former prairie dog colony in a desert grassland site. Small mammals and vegetation were sampled on both a treatment (reintroduction site) and a control site (without prairie dogs) before and after the prairie dogs were reintroduced. We tested for differences in small mammal and plant community change during the 1st year of the colony's existence using repeated measures analysis of variance. Although prairie dog biomass was ca....
To evaluate relationships among populations, phenotypic variation of morphological characters in one Gutierrezia microcephala and eight Gutierrezia sarothrae populations from New Mexico was quantified and compared with variation expressed when these same populations were grown in a common garden. During flowering, plants were randomly collected from each population across New Mexico during two growing seasons. A common garden of stem cuttings from these same populations was established in Las Cruces. Vegetative and reproductive characters were measured for each population at original and common sites. Vegetative characters did not differ between G. sarothrae and G. microcephala collected from the same location;...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: JSTOR, Weed Science
The long-eared owl (Asio otus) is a widespread Holarctic species occurring as far south as central Mexico in winter (A.O.U., 1983). Although localized, long-eared owl populations occupy portions of Arizona and New Mexico (Hubbard, 1978; Monson and Phillips, 1981). The only previous report of long-eared owl food habits from the southwestern United States is from Arizona (the same data were reported by Lange and Mikita, 1959; Stophlet, 1959). Most dietary information for long-eared owls has come from areas where voles (Microtus spp.) dominate the diet (Marti, 1976; Nilsson, 1981; Marks, 1984). Here, we report the foods of wintering long-eared owls from an area in northwestern New Mexico where Microtus do not occur....
Many wildlife species ingest soil while feeding, but ingestion rates are known for only a few species. Knowing ingestion rates may be important for studies of environmental contaminants. Wildlife may ingest soil deliberately, or incidentally, when they ingest soil-laden forage or animals that contain soil. We fed white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) diets containing 0-15% soil to relate the dietary soil content to the acid-insoluble ash content of scat collected from the mice. The relation was described by an equation that required estimates of the percent acid-insoluble ash content of the diet, digestibility of the diet, and mineral content of soil. We collected scat from 28 wildlife species by capturing animals,...
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A year's study was made of 13 species of mammals in a desert community in southeastern Arizona. Mammal density averaged 17.4/ha: 66% Dipodomys merriami and 10.5% Onychomys torridus. Average biomass was 1130 g/ha: 40% D. merriami and 40% Lepus californicus. Annual energy flow of mammals was 105,950 kcal/ha: 55% by a granivore (D. merriami), 22% by a browser (L. californicus) and 6.5% by an insectivore (0. torridus). 94.6% of the energy flow was spent in maintenance and 5.4% in growth. The secondary pro- ductivity of the dominant D. merriami was 1.2% of its energy flow; that of Peromyscus ere- micus, the resident species with the lowest and least stable density, was 1.7%. A dominant species may be more important in...
Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae Shinners), a C3 evergreen half-shrub, is a formidable competitor of grasses in the semiarid southwestern rangelands. Sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus (Torr.) Gray), perennial C4 bunchgrass, is the most drought resistant species in the short-grass prairie. A comparative study on soil water extraction patterns, photosynthesis, and canopy development in both species during spring-summer growing season of 1991 was conducted in pot- and field-grown plants. Sand dropseed extracts water at depths between 0 and 30 cm more effectively than broom snakeweed. In contrast, broom snakeweed can take up more water from the subsoil (30-60 cm) than sand dropseed. Photosynthesis in sand...
Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) have been subjected to intense population reduction efforts over much of their range, often resulting in scattered, remnant colonies, and possibly resulting in altered genetic characteristics. Consequently, I examined the relationships between population size reductions and the amount of genetic variability in black-tailed prairie dogs at Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, where a wide range of colony sizes and past management histories existed. Blood samples were collected from 377 prairie dogs at 8 colonies, and were analyzed using starch-gel electrophoresis. Colonies varied in size from <20 individuals, at colonies that had been through recent population bottlenecks...
Quantitative and qualitative data are given for Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook.) Torr. stem anatomy in order to provide information relevant to Behnke's segregation of Sarcobatus from Chenopodiaceae and his idea that Sarcobataceae belong in suborder Phytolaccineae rather than suborder Chenopodiineae. Sarcobatus has highly xeromorphic wood such as in xeric Chenopodiaceae (presence of vasicentric tracheids, narrow vessels, short vessel elements, numerous vessels per group, helical sculpturing of vessel walls), but these features could have evolved independently in both suborders. Nonbordered perforation plates, present in Sarcobatus, are widespread in Caryophyllales s.str. and may prove to be a defining feature for...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: JSTOR, Taxon
Mechanismsth ati nfluenceb ody temperaturpe atternsi n blacktailed prairie dogs are not well understood. Previous research on bothf ree-ranginagn dl aboratorpyo pulationosf b lack-tailed prairied ogs (Cynomyslu dovicianush) as suggestedt hat reductions in ambientt emperaturea nd food and waterd eprivation are the primary factors that stimulate torpor in this species. In other species, however, torpor has been shown to be influenced by a multitude of factors, including innate circadian and circannual timing mechanisms, energy status, and reproductive behaviorsO. uro bjectivew as to clarifyt he influenceo f weather, sex, and intrinsic timing mechanisms on the body temperature patternso f free-ranginbg lack-tailedp...
With the reduction of fire frequency in the northern Great Basin, shrubs have increased in abundance at the expense of the herbaceous component. The ability of shrubs to acquire limited soil water resources is probably an important process in determining plant succession and composition. Water use by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) and green rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus subsp. viscidiflorus) was measured during the growing season. I tested the hypothesis that Wyoming big sagebrush utilizes soil water at a more rapid rate, early in the growing season than green rabbitbrush. Water use by these 2 shrubs was compared by determining total water potential (?), leaf conductance,...
Highlight: Vegetational differences were studied among one active prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) town and three towns which had been abandoned 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively. Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides) were dominant on all four study areas. Percent cover of total vegetation, grasses, and increaser and invader species declined with length of abandonment. Percent cover of the only decreaser, western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii), was similar on the abandoned towns and lowest on the active town. Composition of vegetation on the four study areas did not indicate that the usual stages of secondary succession on short grass prairie had occurred on the abandoned prairie...
The sounds of black-tailed, white-tailed, and Gunnison's prairie dogs were studied in Colorado and Wyoming from February 1964 to June 1966. Observations, photographs, and tape recordings were made in the field and were supplemented by data collected from captive prairie dogs. The sounds of black-tailed prairie dogs were named and had the usual function as follows: ( 1 ) "repetitious barks" alert; (2) "chuckle" alert; (3) "chatter barks" - threat; (4) "wee-oo" - contact; (5) "snarl" - threat; (6) "growl" threat; (7) "scream" - distress; (8) "raspy purr" - pleasure; and (9) "tooth chatter" - threat. The sounds of white-tailed prairie dogs were: (1) "repetitious barks" alert; (2) "chuckle" alert; (3) "laughing barks"...
Atriplex confertifolia (Chenopodiaceae) consists of ploidy races extending from diploid through decaploid and is dissected into many racial groups by cytological and flavonoid relationships. On the basis of morphology, the species can be divided into two major subdivisions, one centered in western Nevada and inhabiting chiefly the Great Basin, and one centered in the Colorado Plateau. Western Nevada plants are distinguished by smaller and narrower leaves, as well as by darker spines and other charactristics. Because western Nevada is situated in the lee of the Sierra Nevada Range, it received reduced amounts of rainfall during Pleistocene and Holocene times. These reduced leaf dimensions of A. confertifolia of the...
Field spectroradiometric plant canopy measurements showed that broom snakeweed [Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh.) Britt. and Rusby # GUESA] and spiny aster (Aster spinosus Benth. # ASTSN) had lower near-infrared (0.85-Î&frac14;m) reflectance than did other associated rangeland shrubs and herbaceous vegetation. The low near-infrared reflectances of both species were attributed to their erectophile (erect leaf/stem) canopy structures. These low near-infrared reflectance values caused broom snakeweed to have a dark-brown to black image on color-infrared aerial photos (0.50- to 0.90-Î&frac14;m), whereas spiny aster had a dark reddish-brown to black image. Other rangeland plant species had light-brown, red, or magenta images....
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: JSTOR, Weed Science
Artemisia tridentata Nutt, is a drought-tolerant shrub that expands inflorescences during summer and autumn, even though xylem pressure potentials may be less than -5.0 MPa. Supplemental watering increased total inflorescence biomass and the biomass of floral heads over 450 and 550%, respectively. Inflorescences displayed positive net photosynthesis until xylem pressure potentials decreased below -5.0 MPa. Growth of inflorescences was not dependent on carbon imported from vegetative leaves; removal of all leaves on vegetative branches did not change inflorescence biomass, and 14CO2 fixed by adjacent vegetative branches was not transferred into inflorescences. Expanding inflorescences during summer may enhance competitive...
map background search result map search result map Energy relationships of the mammals of a desert shrub (Larrea tridentata) community Responses of small mammals and vegetation to a reintroduction of Gunnison's prairie dogs Energy relationships of the mammals of a desert shrub (Larrea tridentata) community Responses of small mammals and vegetation to a reintroduction of Gunnison's prairie dogs