 The goal of this research is to improve understanding of black-tailed prairie dog colonies that have been impacted by urbanization, and how these colonies may impact other wildlife communities. Prairie dog populations have been fragmented by urban development and at present there is little understanding of what impact this may have on various aspects of prairie dog ecology. Black-tailed prairie dogs are listed as Threatened by The World Conservation Union (IUCN), but are classified as lower-risk.
Researchers are studying a series of over 350 habitat fragments in the Denver, Colorado area. Researchers have been monitoring the fragments in this area for almost five years.
This research documents numerous different behaviors of the species, as well as the dynamics between prairie dogs and local vegetation. Results indicate that prairie dogs react to human interactions in complex ways and may change key anti-predator behaviors in response to human intruders.
Twenty prairie dogs from a single colony were radio-collared within this study area to assess how frequently prairie dogs may move between habitat patches, and what rates of mortality they may suffer during dispersal. It was learned that prairie dog dispersal events are quite rare in urban settings.
These researchers are pioneering the use of mark-resight population estimation to assess local population size for prairie dogs. They have learned that urban colonies persist at much higher densities than colonies in natural settings, and that traditional population estimation based on counting active prairie dogs or burrows is quite inaccurate for this study system. Mathematical models are being developed to predict the distribution of prairie dogs across an urban landscape. This will be of great value to management and conservation efforts for prairie dogs in urban landscapes.
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