![Response of plant and rodent communities to removal of prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) in Arizona [An article from: Journal of Arid Environments]](https://www.ebooknetworking.net/books/B00/0PA/bigB000PAUX5C.jpg)
Response of plant and rodent communities to removal of prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) in Arizona [An article from: Journal of Arid Environments]
Description
This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Arid Environments, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Description:
We conducted a natural removal experiment, utilizing a local outbreak of sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis) as the removal agent, to test the effects of removal of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) on plant and nocturnal rodent assemblages in three grassland habitats (ponderosa, pinyon-juniper, and desert grasslands) in northern Arizona. We measured plant cover, rodent abundance, plant and rodent species richness, and plant and rodent composition at three treatment locations: active prairie dog colonies (n=15), inactive colonies (n=15), and control locations (n=15). Only the amount of plant cover differed significantly among treatments. As landscape level heterogeneity among habitat types increased, rodent abundance and species diversity increased, suggesting that intrinsic habitat characteristics are stronger drivers of plant and rodent assemblages than presence or removal of Gunnison's prairie dogs. We conclude that Gunnison's prairie dogs are not functioning as a keystone species in grasslands of northern Arizona.
Description:
We conducted a natural removal experiment, utilizing a local outbreak of sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis) as the removal agent, to test the effects of removal of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) on plant and nocturnal rodent assemblages in three grassland habitats (ponderosa, pinyon-juniper, and desert grasslands) in northern Arizona. We measured plant cover, rodent abundance, plant and rodent species richness, and plant and rodent composition at three treatment locations: active prairie dog colonies (n=15), inactive colonies (n=15), and control locations (n=15). Only the amount of plant cover differed significantly among treatments. As landscape level heterogeneity among habitat types increased, rodent abundance and species diversity increased, suggesting that intrinsic habitat characteristics are stronger drivers of plant and rodent assemblages than presence or removal of Gunnison's prairie dogs. We conclude that Gunnison's prairie dogs are not functioning as a keystone species in grasslands of northern Arizona.
