Reintroduced prairie dog colonies change arthropod communities and enhance burrowing owl foraging resources. Duval, B. D. Immediate Science Ecology, 1:12–23, 2012.
abstract   bibtex   
In the western United States, human activities have decreased black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) populations to \textless10% of their historic extent. These animals are ecosystem engineers that radically alter soil physical and chemical characteristics and plant communities on their colonies. We tested the hypothesis that prairie dogs have an impact on higher levels of grassland ecology by measuring the differences in arthropod community structure and burrowing owl foraging on those arthropods, between reintroduced colonies and adjacent grassland in southern New Mexico, USA. Arthropod communities differed between colonies and grassland in both number of taxa and abundance. Burrowing owls foraged more on colonies, and caught more prey on colonies compared to grasslands. Pursuit times of burrowing owls in grassland were longer than pursuits on colonies. Burrowing owls nesting on the edge of colonies foraged extensively on colonies, and edge and center-nesting owls delivered similar proportions of prey captured on colonies to their nests. This study suggests that prairie dogs play a vital role in structuring arthropod communities and provide foraging resources for other grassland species.
@article{duval_reintroduced_2012,
	title = {Reintroduced prairie dog colonies change arthropod communities and enhance burrowing owl foraging resources},
	volume = {1},
	abstract = {In the western United States, human activities have decreased black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) populations to {\textless}10\% of their historic extent. These animals are ecosystem engineers that radically alter soil physical and chemical characteristics and plant communities on their colonies. We tested the hypothesis that prairie dogs have an impact on higher levels of grassland ecology by measuring the differences in arthropod community structure and burrowing owl foraging on those arthropods, between reintroduced colonies and adjacent grassland in southern New Mexico, USA. Arthropod communities differed between colonies and grassland in both number of taxa and abundance. Burrowing owls foraged more on colonies, and caught more prey on colonies compared to grasslands. Pursuit times of burrowing owls in grassland were longer than pursuits on colonies. Burrowing owls nesting on the edge of colonies foraged extensively on colonies, and edge and center-nesting owls delivered similar proportions of prey captured on colonies to their nests. This study suggests that prairie dogs play a vital role in structuring arthropod communities and provide foraging resources for other grassland species.},
	journal = {Immediate Science Ecology},
	author = {Duval, Benjamin D.},
	year = {2012},
	keywords = {Athene cunicularia, Cynomys ludovicianus, arthropod communities, article, ecosystem engineering, foraging behavior, foraging resources, grassland conservation, journal, prairie dog colonies},
	pages = {12--23}
}

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