cles analyze tularemia outbreaks, and one examines the pathologic features of monkeypox in commercially traded prairie dogs. While the prairie dog–associated tularemia outbreak and the first U.S. monkeypox outbreak highlight health risks to humans of the unregulated trade of wildcaught animals, they also raise broader issues. Exotic animal import and export have altered the composition of nativ...

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) warrants listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Central to any conservation planning for the black-tailed prairie dog is an appropriate detection and monitoring technique. Because coarse-resolution satellite imagery is not adequate to detect black-tailed...

—During research on black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), we repeatedly observed a female American badger (Taxidea taxus) hunting prairie dogs on a colony in southern Phillips County, Montana. During 1–14 June 2006, we observed 7 aboveground attacks (2 successful) and 3 successful excavations of prairie dogs. The locations and circumstances of aboveground attacks suggested that the ...

The concept of demonstration prairies on the roofs of industrial and commercial premises is recommended as a means of stimulating interest in prairie ecology and of providing educational facilities in urban areas. The economics of such rooftop locations for prairie studies and research depends upon the multiple use of land for seemingly incompatible activities. The use of selected vegetation as...

The relationship between castration and reduced male aggression is well established. However, anecdotal observations of male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) suggest that castration does not reduce aggressive behavior. To investigate the role of testicular androgens on aggressive behavior, castrated or gonadally intact male prairie voles were paired in a neutral arena with a gonadally intac...

Species diversity and abundance of reptiles and amphibians were measured on and off black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies to determine the extent to which herpetological species composition in a shortgrass prairie ecosystem is affected by presence of blacktailed prairie dog colonies. Ten species of reptiles and 3 species of amphibians were captured. Total amphibian and reptil...

Efficacy and safety are primary considerations in registration and use of toxicants for vertebrate pest controlo Strychnine (0,5$) and zinc phosphide (2$) are currently registered by EPA for prairie dog control, but continued registration is uncertain. Two percent zinc phosphide bait has been suspected of producing lower and more erratic results than strychnine baito In our study in western Neb...

Agricultural and wild ecosystems may interact through shared pathogens such as Macrophomina phaseolina, a generalist clonal fungus with more than 284 plant hosts that is likely to become more important under climate change scenarios of increased heat and drought stress. To evaluate the degree of subdivision in populations of M. phaseolina in Kansas agriculture and wildlands, we compared 143 iso...

In some rodent species frequently exposed to plague outbreaks caused by Yersinia pestis, resistance to the disease has evolved as a population trait. As a first step in determining if plague resistance has developed in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), animals captured from colonies in a plague-free region (South Dakota) and two plague-endemic regions (Colorado and Texas) were c...

Prairie (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow voles (M. pennsylvanicus) are closely related species that differ in life strategy and social behaviors, and thus provide an excellent comparative model for the study of neuronal and hormonal mechanisms underlying behavior. In the present study using the elevated plus maze (EPM) test, we found that male prairie voles entered the open arms of the EPM mor...