Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 1999. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-81). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1973. / Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-134).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-47).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on October 29, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined the food interactions between Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens, Allen) and cattle (Bos taurus), During 1974 and 1975, three prairie dog colonies near Panguitch, Utah, were studied intensely: "Oldfield" was chosen to represent colonies near fields of alfalfa (Medicago sativa); "Lowercrested" was chosen to represent colonies below 2,200 meters above sea level (a. s. 1.) which were not near alfalfa, and "Uppercrested" was chosen to represent colonies above 2,200 meters a.s.l. which have been planted with crested wheatgrass. Visual observations were made of Utah prairie dogs to determine their diets. Livetrapping of prairie dogs provided data for estimates of population sizes and animal weights, which were used to calculate forage requirements. Cattle diets and forage intake per individual were derived from the literature. Much more forage was available to prairie dogs than to cattle. About 80 percent of the forb phytomass ingested by prairie dogs at Uppercrested never would have become available to cattle. Prairie dogs foraged more selectively than cattle are capable of doing. Neither animal showed a general dietary preference toward either grasses or forbs: each plant life form contained bath preferred and avoided species. Bath animals had a low preference for shrubs. Oldfield's area tripled between 1971 and 1974, but Uppercrested did not expand. Between 1 June, 1974, and 1 June, 1975, Oldfield's population increased from about 42 to 70 adult prairie dogs, and the colony's area increased proportionately; however, Uppercrested's population appeared to decline from approximately 22 to 19 adults. The dissimilar expansion rates, at least between 1974 and 1975, probably were due to differences in behavior, forage availability, nutrition, and predation. Oldfield's prairie dogs gained weight much faster than did Uppercrested's animals. Thus, the average number of active Utah prairie dogs ingesting as much forage as a cow and calf from March through October (prairie dogs fed little during other months) was 410 at Oldfield, compared to 500 at Uppercrested. Numbers concerning total utilization may be even higher: prairie dogs waste little vegetation, but cattle probably trample much. On the other hand, prairie dogs clip closer to the ground and earlier in the growth season than do cattle; consequently, prairie dogs may cause a greater reduction in primary production for the same amount of forage intake. Population densities of prairie dogs in late June, one month after the young first emerged, were 35/ha at Oldfield, 16/ha at Lowercrested, and less than 2.3/ha at Uppercrested. Prairie dogs used over 70 percent of the primary production of perennial herbage at Oldfield and about 10 percent of it at Lowercrested. Uppercrested's prairie dogs used approximately 3 percent of the primary production of crested wheatgrass, a preferred forage. Within any one year, cattle probably rarely reduce population s of Utah prairie dogs, and possibly may increase populations in colonies with high primary production. Prairie dogs apparently have reduced the primary production of perennial herbage at bath Oldfield and Lowercrested. Vegetational canopy coverage was greater on mounds than off mounds in the low use portion of Uppercrested. Heavy grazing by livestock in the past probably has eliminated much Utah prairie dog habitat: swales have been destroyed and early spring forage has been reduced.

Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2008. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark Taper. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Dept., South Dakota State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Biology / Jack F. Cully, Jr. / Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are epizootic hosts for plague (Yersinia pestis); however, alternate enzootic hosts are important for the maintenance of the pathogen. We determined small rodents and prairie dog associations and quantified rodent and flea relationships in the presence and absence of prairie dog colonies and plague. We identified potential alternate hosts and flea vectors for the maintenance and transmission of plague in the prairie ecosystem. This is the first multi-year study to investigate associations between prairie dogs, rodents and fleas across the range of the black-tailed prairie dog. Few rodent species associated with black-tailed prairie dogs and were found to be highly abundant on colonies. Rodent species implicated in plague were present at study areas with and without plague. Peromyscus maniculatus and Onychomus leucogaster, two widely occurring species, were more abundant in areas with a recent history of plague. Flea community characteristics varied within each study area in the presence and absence of prairie dogs. Based on flea diversity on rodents, and the role of rodents and fleas in plague, we identified P. maniculatus and O. leucogaster and their associated fleas, Aetheca wagneri, Malareus telchinus, Orchopeas leucopus, Peromyscopsylla hesperomys, and Pleochaetis exilis to be important for the dynamics of sylvatic plague in our study areas. Peromyscus maniculatus and O. leucogaster were consistently infected with Bartonella spp., another blood parasite. Presence of prairie dog fleas on other rodents at both off and on prairie dog colonies suggests the potential for intra and interspecific transmission of fleas between rodent hosts, and between other small rodents and prairie dogs.

The contagious nature of the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) jump-yip display may provide information to signalers and receivers regarding the vigilance of neighbours. Videotaping jump-yip bouts and the behaviour of both bout initiators and respondents within those bouts provided evidence that: 1) individuals became vigilant immediately following jump-yip production, but exhibited minimal changes in their immediate post-jump-yip behaviour with changes in the characteristics of the preceding bout, 2) bout initiators spent more time actively foraging and exhibited vigilance behaviours less frequently with greater levels of response in the preceding jump-yip bout, 3) respondents spent more time actively foraging and less time vigilant following bouts with greater response. These results suggest that black-tailed prairie dogs base behavioural decisions at least in part on the characteristics of their jump-yip bouts and thus the jump yip display may provide information about the vigilance of group members. / October 2007