Megaherbivores and small burrowing mammals commonly coexist and play important functional roles in grassland ecosystems worldwide. The interactive effects of these two functional groups of herbivores in shaping the structure and function of grassland ecosystems are poorly understood. In North America's central grasslands, domestic cattle (Bos taurus) have supplanted bison (Bison bison), and now...

Rainfall partitioning and redistribution by canopies are important ecohydrological processes underlying ecosystem dynamics. We quantified and contrasted spatial and temporal variations of rainfall redistribution for a juniper (Juniperus virginiana, redcedar) woodland and a tallgrass prairie in the south-central Great Plains, USA. Our results showed that redcedar trees had high canopy storage ca...

Although lead shot has been banned for waterfowl hunting in North America, some predators continue to exhibit elevated lead burdens, which has been attributed to ingesting metallic lead from other projectiles. Few studies have investigated residual lead fragments in hunted upland animals. Therefore, specific portals for lead entering wildlife food chains remain largely unknown. Prairie dogs (Cy...

Greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) were once found throughout the tallgrass prairie of midwestern North America but over the last century these prairies have been lost or fragmented by human land use. As a consequence, many current populations of prairie-chickens have become isolated and small. This fragmentation of populations is expected to lead to reductions in genetic va...

Adult male prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are highly gregarious and socially monogamous, which is dissimilar to most other male rodents but reminiscent of many primates, including humans. This has resulted in prairie voles becoming a premier model in which to study the neural and hormonal basis of complex social behaviors, as well as the atypical development of these behaviors. This resea...

Pollinator species have seen recent declines in abundance, generating conservation concern as well alarm about the ecosystem services they provide. A common approach to alleviate pollinator decline is through habitat management, including restoration of degraded habitats and removal invasive species, but apparent improvement does not necessarily mean an abundance diversity. We collected pollina...

Prairie strips planted into crop fields offer multiple environmental benefits. This study estimates the willingness of U.S. farmers to convert 5% their largest corn-soybean field prairie in exchange for payment. Using stated preference results estimate land supply, we find that 20% are willing adopt at payments equivalent average Conservation Reserve Program rental rates, corresponding potentia...