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Activity budgets of Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs in the early Monsoon Season. Tierney Adamson. Introduction: Prairie Dogs a Keystone Species. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Activity budgets of Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs in the early Monsoon Season
Tierney Adamson
Introduction: Prairie Dogs a Keystone Species
• In grassland ecosystems where they are found, prairie dogs increase species diversity, enhance nutritive value of some plants for other herbivores, provide an abundant food source for predators, and construct burrow systems that afford shelter for many wildlife species.
• Scientists studying prairie dogs in mixed and shortgrass prairies have estimated that at least 208 animal species are associated with prairie dog colonies.
Introduction: Prairie Dog Population Decline• Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) were
once among the most numerous and widespread herbivores in North American grasslands.
• Human activities, such as habitat destruction, poisoning efforts, ‘varmint hunting’ and plague have significantly reduced prairie dog populations to less than 2% of their historical range.
Introduction: Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs on Sevilleta
• Interviews with retired Animal Control Officer John Ford established former distribution prior to extermination in 60’s & 70’s.
• Before this project, 2 small colonies existed along northern (Nunn Flat) & southern (South Gate) fence lines on east side of Sevilleta NWR.
Nunn Flat
South Gate
2 Objectives:• Return a keystone vertebrate
species to the interior of Sevilleta NWR: – ~350 individuals released at
McKenzie Flats site
Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs on Sevilleta: McKenzie Flat Re-Establishment Project
• Ecological research: – the effects of Gunnison’s
prairie dogs on a grassland ecosystem from which they were extirpated ~30 years past.
– Individuals released into 100m x 100m plots set-up with artificial burrows and permanent vegetation monitoring stations and paired w/ 100m x 100m control plots.
Current Study: Seasonal activity budgets of Gunnison’s Prairie Dogs • The overall purpose of my
research is to determine the variation in seasonal activity budgets for Gunnison’s prairie dogs at the McKenzie Flats colony on Sevilleta and compare those activity budgets with climate variables.
• Today I will present summary results for individual activity budget observations conducted during the summer monsoon period, June 28 – July 18, 2006.
Background Material
• Whereas I am studying Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni), most previous prairie dog research has considered black- or white-tailed prairie dogs.
• J. Hoogland conducted extensive black-tailed prairie dog behavioral research; his insight and field methods are utilized for the current study.
• H. Adams (MS, NMSU) examined seasonal activity budgets of black-tailed prairie dogs in southern NM; her methods are adapted for the current study following Altmann…
• J. Altmann provided the behavioral observation guidelines which ensure non-biased individual observations through time.
Predicted Activity Budgets
• Prairie dogs should be more active during the cooler parts of the day.
• If a prairie dog spends most of its time foraging then it should travel longer distances. If it spends most of its time in vigilant actions then you would expect that it wouldn’t travel as much because it was afraid of predators.
Study Methods• Catch and mark individual
prairie dogs.– 100 Tomahawk live traps
set for 5 nights on and around North Treatment Plot.
– Note sex, weight and paint numbers on individuals with Nyanzol D permanent dye so I can tell individuals apart during observations.
Study Methods
• Create GIS map of my study plot.
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North Treatment Burrow Map June 2006
±0 10 20 30 405Meters
Legend
" Artificial Burrow
%, Large Burrows
XW Sm-Med Burrows
E Plot Corners
_̂ Pdog CAM
_̂ Observation Tower
Study Methods
• Establish 15’ observation tower (Tierney Box).
Study Methods• In a behavior study, guidelines have to be set in order to best eliminate bias.
• Sessions were divided up into 2 hour segments, with general scans every 30 minutes. Prairie dogs themselves were studied for 5 minutes each.
• The marked individuals were watched from the tower with binoculars.
How do I tell individuals?
Mark Sex Weight "Names"
51 F 520 Ash
52 F 630 Renee
53 F 485 Carrie
54 F 470 Fred
55 F 540 Amelia
56 F 630 Laura
1 M 590 Scott
2 M 750 Jay
3 M 660 Don
57 F 610 Brenda
58 F 640 Caitlin
4 M 710 Andrew
59 F 635 Jennifer
5 M 690 Mike
6 M 630 Alex
60 F 520 Cathy
Life as a pdog…
Pdog Activity Budgets
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
BV BF QV QF AB R DIG GR RST RIB TB W L NB HOVActivity
Per
cen
tag
e
Male pdogs
Female pdogs
General pdogs
ActivitiesBF-Bipedal foragingBV- Bipedal vigilanceQF-Quadrapedal foragingQV-Quadrapedal vigilanceAB-Amicable BehaviorsR-RunningDIG-DiggingGR-Self groomingRST-Resting above groundRIB-Resting in burrowTB-Territorial BehaviorsW-WalkingL-Lost individualNB-Nesting BehaviorHOV-Head out of burrow
vigilance
Foraging and Vigilance
Foraging Activity per Session
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Session
Tim
e sp
ent
fora
gin
g
General
Male
Female
Vigilance Activity per Session
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Session
Tim
e sp
ent
vig
ilan
t
General
Male
Female
How far will they go?
Vigilance vs. Distance
0102030405060708090
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Vigilance Time (s)D
ista
nce
(m
)
Individual pdog
Linear (Individualpdog)
Foraging vs. Distance
0102030405060708090
0 100 200 300 400
Time (s)
Dis
tan
ce (
m)
Pdog individual
Linear (Pdogindividual)
Effects of ClimateNumber of pdogs vs. Temperature
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 10 20 30 40
Temp (in C)
Nu
mb
er o
f p
do
gs
Pdog individuals
Number of pdogs vs. Relative Humidity
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 20 40 60 80
Relative humidity (%)
Nu
mb
er o
f p
do
gs
Pdog individuals
Number of pdogs vs. Wind Speed
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Wind Speed (km/hr)
Nu
mb
er o
f p
do
gs
Pdog individuals
Other Animal Interactions
• Other animals interact with the prairie dogs out on the NT site.
• Pronghorn, Rabbits, Spotted Ground Squirrel, Swainson’s Hawk, and Ferruginous Hawk have been seen.
Discussion
• Further study required.
• Nevertheless, we now can tell a little bit about what the prairie dogs are doing. It appears that there are prairie dogs still in their burrows during the day.
• Prairie dogs have been seen to travel either great distances or not at all.
Further research
• Activity budgets must be determined over each season of the year in order to consider seasonal variation in above ground activity and how activity might relate to climatic variables
• Would also be good to break down foraging activity by plant species consumed.
• There is need to reconsider distance measures:– We need to get at effort and risk put towards foraging
and general above ground activity over time and current measure may fall short.
Acknowledgments
• Sevilleta LTER
• FWS Staff
• Mike Friggens
• Scott Collins
• Ana Davidson
• Jennifer Johnson
• House 1