Rapid human population growth and habitat modification in the western United States has led to the formation of urban and exurban rangelands. Many of these rangelands are also home to populations of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). Our study aimed to compare the vegetation composition of an urban and exurban rangeland, and explore the role that prairie dogs play in these system...

Laboratory and field studies were conducted between July and October 1999 to identify bait preference, biomarker efficacy, and bait acceptance rates for delivering an oral plague vaccine to black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). Twenty juvenile captive prairie dogs were offered alfalfa baits containing either alfalfa, alfalfa and 5% molasses, or alfalfa, 5% molasses and 4% salt. Base...

Populations of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), an endemic grouse of the south-central United States, have declined precipitously. This species occurs in shortand mixed-grass prairies with sandy soils. Apart from perennial grasses of short stature, prairie-chicken habitat is characterized by dryland shrubs of the sand shinnery community, particularly the shinnery oak (Qu...

The structural attributes of shrubland communities may provide thermal refugia and protective cover necessary for wild animals to survive. During the summers of 2002 and 2003, we evaluated the thermal environment for lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus Ridgway) broods in southeast New Mexico across a complex landscape that included grazed sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii Rydb....

-To predict prairie dog establishment in areas adjacent to a colony we sampled: (1) VISIBILITY through the vegetation using a target, (2) POPULATION DENSITY at the colony edge, (3) DISTANCE from the edge to the potential site of settlement, and (4) % FORB COVER. Step-wise regression analysis indicated that establishment of prairie dogs in adjacent prairie was most likely to occur when an area w...

Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) are highly susceptible to Yersinia pestis and significant reservoirs of plague for humans in the western United States. A recombinant raccoon poxvirus, expressing the F1 antigen of Y. pestis, was incorporated into a palatable bait and offered to 18 black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) for voluntary consumption; 18 negative control animals received placebo...

Prairie hay meadows are important reservoirs of grassland biodiversity in the tallgrass prairie regions of the central United States and are the object of increasing attention for conservation and restoration. In addition, there is growing interest in the potential use of such low-input, high-diversity (LIHD) native grasslands for biofuel production. The uplands of eastern Kansas, USA, which pr...

Despite the eradication of smallpox, orthopoxviruses (OPV) remain public health concerns. Efforts to develop new therapeutics and vaccines for smallpox continue through their evaluation in animal models despite limited understanding of the specific correlates of protective immunity. Recent monkeypox virus challenge studies have established the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) as ...

Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) on the Great Plains of the United States are highly susceptible to plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, with mortality on towns during plague epizootics often approaching 100%. The ability of flea-borne transmission to sustain disease spread has been questioned because of inefficiency of flea vectors. However, even with low individual...

Gunnison's prairie dogs have a complex alarm communication system. We show that the escape responses of prairie dogs to naturally occurring live predators differed depending upon the species of predator. We also show that playbacks of alarm calls that were elicited originally by the live predators produced the same escape responses as the live predators themselves. The escape responses fell int...