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Prairie Dogs & Biodiversity

Prairie Dogs & Biodiversity. Prairie dog colonies support a variety of species 40% of western wildlife (over 150 species) are associated with prairie dog colonies Considered both a keystone species and a foundation species Prey source Grazers; alter habitat conditions Ecosystem engineers

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Prairie Dogs & Biodiversity

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  1. Prairie Dogs & Biodiversity • Prairie dog colonies support a variety of species • 40% of western wildlife (over 150 species) are associated with prairie dog colonies • Considered both a keystone species and afoundation species • Prey source • Grazers; alter habitat conditions • Ecosystem engineers • Aeration and fertilization • New habitat Wikipedia: Photo by Asiir

  2. Prairie Dogs & Humans • Competition with livestock of human settlers; alter landscape possibly harming horses or cows (broken legs) • Considered pests or varmint • Poisoning and shooting began in 1800 • US Federal government allocated funds to poison prairie dogs beginning in 1915 • Today many US states require landowners to poison prairie dogs if neighbors complain • At least 20% of colonies are poisoned annually

  3. Ecosystem Effects Bergstrom et al. 2013

  4. Black-footed ferrets • One of North America’s most endangered animals; declared extinct (twice!); specialist predator • 1964 - One small population was found in S. Dakota • 1967 – Considered threatened • 1973 – Creation of ESA • 1979 – Species declared extinct • 1981 – A new population was found by a ranch dog in Wyoming • 1986 – Canine distemper virus destroyed the last known wild population USFWS: Photo by J.M. Lockhart

  5. Habitat and Historical Range

  6. Habitat and Ecosystem Consequences • Less than 4% of the historical tallgrass prairie and 25-30% of the historical shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie remains • Rarer habitat than the tropical rainforests • Considered North America’s most endangered ecosystem • Most lost due to agricultural use, urban development and remaining habitat is highly fragmented • Black-tailed Prairie Dogs inhabit only about 2% of their original range • Why discuss Black-footed ferrets and Prairie Dogs together

  7. Sylvatic Plague • Bacterial disease transmitted by fleas • Affects mammalian species including ferrets, prairie dogs, and even humans • 1300s – outbreaks of plague caused bubonic plague • 25 million people died • Animals can get plague from flea bites or eating infected prey • Brainstorming Activity: • As a conservation officer, how would you deal with these factors? What strategies would you use to conserve these populations?

  8. What did they do? • 1971 – captured 6 individuals to start a breeding program • Vaccine for plague had been tested on Siberian ferrets with success • 4 of 6 Black-footed ferrets died from vaccinations • 1986 – last 18 individuals were collected to restart a breeding program • New vaccine was effective

  9. Ferret Recovery Program • Multiple partners • US Fish and Wildlife • Environment Canada • State and Provincial Agencies • Canadian Zoos – Calgary, Toronto • NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy, 2012. Spotlight on Black-footed ferrets USFWS: Photo by R. Moehring

  10. Ferret Captive Breeding Program • Initiated in 1987; 2003 in Canada • 2009 first release in Canada • 2013 explosion of plague associated with wet summer • Canada has halted reintroduction programs USFWS: Photo by K. Fraser • Number of BFF kits born across all captive breeding locations 1987-2010 • Source: Blackfootedferret.org ABCNews. 2012. Ferret boot camp.

  11. Reintroducing ferrets is only part of the solution • Land use, management and conservation • Reintroductions vs introductions • Prairie dog policies need to change • Safe Harbor initiative • Transboundary conservation problems • Actively killed in some states • Designated as Threatened in Canada • Sylvatic plague in Prairie Dogs Provincial Museum of Alberta: Photo by D. Gummer National Park Service: nps.gov

  12. New Technology to Aid Conservation:Vaccine-laced M&M’s delivered via drones Thomas & Becarra. 2017. Montana prairie dogs are about to be vaccinated. Fox 47 News. All images on this page from Wikipedia.org

  13. Questions to Think About • Captive breeding saved the black-footed ferret from extinction. Other endangered animals have not been successfully bred in captivity. What factors might make captive breeding more likely to be successful for a given species? • Some species that are extinct in the wild still survive in captivity, but are unlikely to ever be reintroduced to the wild. Why do you think this is? • All of the black-footed ferrets alive today descended from just 7 individuals. Why do you think this might be of particular concern to the species survival?

  14. References • ABC News. 2012. Ferret Bootcamp. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/ferret-boot-camp-16729793 • Bergstrom BJ, Arias LC, Davidson AD, Ferguson AW, Randa L & Sheffield SR. 2013. License to kill: Reforming federal wildlife control to restore biodiversity and ecosystem function. Conserv Lett. 2013 Mar 11;00:1–12. • The Nature Conservancy 2012. Spotlight of Black-footed Ferrets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkoCNnV7RFY&feature=youtu.be • Thomas, E & Becarra, L. 2017. Montana prairie dogs are about to vaccinated in bulk by drones. Fox47News. https://www.fox47news.com/newsy/montana-prairie-dogs-are-about-to-be-vaccinated-in-bulk-by-drones

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