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A Survey of Reintroduced Gunnison’s Prairie D og I mpacts on Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

A Survey of Reintroduced Gunnison’s Prairie D og I mpacts on Chihuahuan Desert Grassland. Evan Hewitt. Gunnison’s Prairie Dog. Cynomys gunnisoni (GPD) is a graminivorous, social, semi- fossorial mammal related to squirrels

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A Survey of Reintroduced Gunnison’s Prairie D og I mpacts on Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

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  1. A Survey of Reintroduced Gunnison’s Prairie Dog Impacts on Chihuahuan Desert Grassland Evan Hewitt

  2. Gunnison’s Prairie Dog • Cynomys gunnisoni (GPD) is a graminivorous, social, semi-fossorial mammal related to squirrels • Species exterminated across much of it’s native range, recently reintroduced on Sevilleta (2010) • Prairie dogs are a keystone species • Affect species composition, diversity, height, structure, biomass, and productivity

  3. Purpose of Research • Investigate the impact of prairie dogs on vegetation. Across the control and treatment plots, will surveys indicate a significant change in biomass between plots? What about species diversity? • Circumstances, behavior and ecology of GPD differs significantly from the more commonly studied black tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus).

  4. Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

  5. Field Methods (Cont’d)

  6. Results – Species Richness T-Test p-value = 0.197692221 No significant difference between treatments on species richness.

  7. Results – Total Biomass

  8. Cover T-Test0.000517437 Significant pvalue Biomass T-Test0.363673826 Not Significant pvalue

  9. Interpretation • The data collected for this study does not readily reflect the impact of GPD on vegetation. • Temporal scale, methodological • Climate, phenology

  10. Future • Yearly and seasonal data collection • Augment quadrat sampling with methods such as transects with a greater spatial extent

  11. Acknowledgements • Partnership between NSF, USFWS, UNM that made this opportunity possible. • Amaris Swann, Jon Erz, Stephanie Baker • Fellow undergraduate researchers

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