The Utah prairie dog (''Cynomys parvidens'') is the smallest
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
prairie dog
Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. Within the genus are five species: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. In Mexico, p ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the south-central
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
s of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
state of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
.
The species is listed in the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
with a
status
Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to:
* Status (law)
** City status
** Legal status, in law
** Political status, in international law
** Small entity status, in patent law
** Status conference ...
of
Endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
. Because of this, it is a
protected species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invas ...
; the prairie dog faces various threats - the most dangerous being
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and disease.
Description
Appearance
The fur of Utah prairie dogs is multicolored, which consists of black, brown, and dark brown at the tip. Their faces have dark brown cheeks and whitish tone around their chins and mouth.
[Pizzimenti JJ, Collier GD (1975) Cynomys parvidens. Mamm Spec 52:1–3] Utah prairie dogs also have distinctly clay colored
proximal
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
tail parts and
dorsum, as well as dark eyebrows.
In terms of
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
, there are two
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
of prairie dogs: "black-tailed" prairie dogs and "white-tailed" prairie dogs. Utah prairie dogs are a member of the latter of the two groups and the subgenus ''Leucrossuromys''. Utah prairie dogs may have been part of the interbreeding species of white-tailed prairie dogs but their differences are a result of what is known as
allopatric speciation
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
- separation of a species by
physiographic
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...
and ecological barriers.
Body Size
The total body length of typical adult Utah prairie dogs ranges from 30.5 cm to 36.0 cm with 3 cm to 6 cm of tail.
[
Adult prairie dogs weigh about 0.77 kg to 1.41 kg in males, and 0.64 kg to 1.13 kg in females.][Wright-Smith, M.A. 1978. The ecology and social organization of Cynomys parvidens (Utah prairie dog) in south central ]Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. M.A. Thesis, Indiana University, Bloomington.
44 pp. Utah prairie dogs exhibit sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
; males are 27% bigger than females, although the ratio varies by season.[Hoogland J.L. 2003b. Sexual dimorphism in five species of prairie dogs. J Mammal 84:1254–1266]
Their body weights can span from .3 kg to .9 kg in the spring, and .5 kg to 1.5 kg in the summer for males. In 1952, Durant noted that the Utah prairie dog has a skull larger than that of the Gunnison's prairie dog
Gunnison's prairie dog (''Cynomys gunnisoni'') is one of five species of prairie dog. This species belongs to the squirrel family of rodents, and are predominantly related to the North American and Eurasian ground squirrels. Gunnison's prairie do ...
.[Durrant, S. D. 1952. Mammals of Utah. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 6:1-549.]
Ecology
Range
Utah prairie dogs are only found in the southern part of Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. They have the most constrained range when compared to the other four species of prairie dogs in the United States (Gunnison's prairie dog
Gunnison's prairie dog (''Cynomys gunnisoni'') is one of five species of prairie dog. This species belongs to the squirrel family of rodents, and are predominantly related to the North American and Eurasian ground squirrels. Gunnison's prairie do ...
, Mexican prairie dog
The Mexican prairie dog (''Cynomys mexicanus'') is a diurnal burrowing rodent native to Mexico. Treatment as an agricultural pest has led to its status as an endangered species. They are closely related to squirrels, chipmunks, and marmots. ''C ...
, the white-tailed prairie dog
The white-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys leucurus'') is found in western Wyoming and western Colorado with small areas in eastern Utah and southern Montana. The largest populations are in Wyoming where they are known colloquially as "chiselers". ...
, and the black-tailed prairie dog
The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States-Canada border to the United States-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, ...
) - none of which overlap geographic territories. Today the Utah prairie dog is only found in the central and southwestern part of Utah in Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
, Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...
, Iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, Kane, Piute, Sevier, and Wayne Counties.[McDonald, K.P. 1993. Analysis of the Utah prairie dog recovery program, 1972-1992. Publication No. 93-16. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Cedar City, UT. 81 pp.] However, it was recorded that Utah prairie dogs existed as far north as Nephi, as far south as the pine fir forests of Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park () is an American national park located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern ...
, and Aquarius Plateau
The Aquarius Plateau is a physiographic region in the High Plateaus Section of the Colorado Plateau Province. It is located within Garfield and Wayne counties in south-central Utah.
Geography
The plateau, a tectonic uplift on the much larger ...
to the east in 1920, but the number declined from the 1920s to 1970s by 87%. This reduction was thought to be a result of human settlers who caused overgrazing
Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
of soil, and thus catalyzed the invasion of shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
to the grass land.[
]
Habitat
Utah prairie dogs prefer swale
Swale or Swales may refer to:
Topography
* Swale (landform), a low tract of land
** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution
** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification
Geography
* River Swale, in North ...
land area with abundant herbaceous plants
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition of t ...
. They build burrows on soil with adequate drain ability, depth to protect themselves from predators (a minimum of 3.3 feet deep), and appropriately colored soil for camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
purposes. Other environmental factors such as temperature influence the building process, such as insulation prospects.[Collier, G.D. 1975. "The Utah prairie dog: Abundance, distribution, and habitat requirements". Pub. No. 75-10. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Salt Lake City, UT. 94 pp.] Agricultural properties often provide Utah prairie dogs with suitable habitats, but when populations get too dense, outbreaks of plagues become common (of which fleas
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, ar ...
are the typical vectors) and can demolish entire colonies.
Diet
Utah prairie dogs are mainly herbivores
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
, but they sometimes choose small insects, such as cicadas.[Hoogland, J. L. 2003a. Black-tailed prairie dog: Cynomys ludovicianus and allies. Pp. 232–247 in Wild mammals of North America (G. A. Feldhamer, B. C. Thompson, and J. A. Chapman, eds.). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.] They highly prefer grasses and forbs
A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...
but they also do consume flowers in shrubs
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
. Utah prairie dogs choose only a few species of grasses that are native to their surrounding soil.[Hoogland, J.L. 2001. Black-tailed, Gunnison’s, and Utah prairie dogs all reproduce slowly. Journal of Mammalogy 82:917-927] Eating green vegetation and forbs of high quality allows them to obtain large quantities of protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
and energy, which is critical for activities such as lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...
and hibernation
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...
.
Reproduction
Utah prairie dogs show polyandry
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...
behavior, and lay only one litter per year, which generally consists of one to eight pups, with a mean of 3.88 pups.[Hoogland, J. L. 2013. Why do female prairie dogs copulate with more than one male?—Insights from long-term research. Journal of Mammalogy, 94(4), 731-744.] The size of litters directly correlate with maternal body mass. However, approximately twenty percent of the litter may be eradicated due to males cannibalizing juvenile Utah prairie dogs. The gestation period
In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...
of a female Utah prairie dog is approximately 28 days. The breeding occurs generally from mid-March through early April. Female estrus
The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous p ...
occurs for just one day, for only a few hours during this breeding season. Nevertheless, this atypical cycle is sustainable because on average, ninety-seven percent of adult females are in conditions conducive to breeding and thus produce litters. The life expectancy of Utah prairie dogs is around five years.
Behavior
They build extensive "towns" of tunnels and chambers. Each town's population is the members of an extended prairie dog family group called a “clan”, which comprises an adult male, a few adult females, and their juveniles, who work to maintain boundaries of geographic territories. They forage from dawn to dusk. Prairie dogs are particularly social animals and demonstrate communal behavior. They hibernate during the harshest months of the winter for about four to six months and emerge by late February or early March, and occasionally during mild conditions. Adult male prairie dogs begin hibernation around August or September and their female counterparts do the same a few weeks afterwards. Younger generations go into hibernation one to two months later, towards the end of November.[Gould, Rowan W. "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revising the Special Rule for the Utah Prairie Dog" April 15, 2011.https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2011-06-02/pdf/2011-13684.pdf#page=1]
Predators
The primary predators of Utah prairie dogs include badgers ('' Taxidea taxis''), many species of raptors (''Aquila chrysaetos
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...
, Buteo
''Buteo'' is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: ''Buteo'' is the Latin name o ...
spp''.), coyotes (''Canis latrans
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
''), snakes ('' Pituophus spp., Crotalus
''Crotalus'' is a genus of venomous pit vipers in the family Viperidae, known as rattlesnakes or rattlers.Albert Hazen WWright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing ...
spp.''), and long-tailed weasels (''Mustela frenata
The long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), also known as the bridled weasel, masked ermine, or big stoat, is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central A ...
''). However, predators don't pose a significant threat to the numbers of prairie dogs in well-established colonies.
Ecological Impact
Utah prairie dogs act as a keystone species
A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaini ...
for their ecosystem - they are responsible for enhancing landscape heterogeneity
Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...
, mitigating the height of local vegetation, mixing soil by burrowing (which in turn aids in the nitrogen uptake of plants), and altering the chemistry of the soil by making it more porous and allowing for precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
and organic matter to penetrate the ground. Other animals including rabbits
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...
, badgers, ground squirrels
Ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents ( Sciuridae), which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known ...
, and burrowing owl
The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...
s rely on the burrows and conditions that Utah prairie dogs generate.
Conservation
Conservation Status
The species appears in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with a status of Endangered, last assessed on July 11, 2016.
The Utah prairie dog is listed as a threatened species
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...
by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
. They have also been considered federally threatened since the year 1984. They are protected under the 1973 Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...
(ESA). In 1920 there were approximately 95,000 Utah prairie dogs and over the span of around 50 years, the population was decimated by an estimated 50%. Reports have shown that this was a result of population control programs that were instituted in the 1920s, unregulated shooting, and poisoning. Other factors that contributed to this drastic reduction include diseases, increased aridity
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
, overgrazing of habitats and habitat loss, epizootic
In epizoology, an epizootic (from Greek: ''epi-'' upon + ''zoon'' animal) is a disease event in a nonhuman animal population analogous to an epidemic in humans. An epizootic may be restricted to a specific locale (an "outbreak"), general (an "epi ...
infections, cultivated agriculture, invasive plant species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
, climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, poaching
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
, the exploration and development of energy resources, off-highway vehicle recreation, fire management, and urban development
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
. In 1972, studies estimated a population of 3,300 Utah prairie dogs in 37 colonies. Studies by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is part of the Utah Department of Natural Resources for the state of Utah in the United States. The mission of the Division of Wildlife Resources is to serve the people of Utah as trustee and guardian of t ...
in spring 2004 reported 4,022 Utah prairie dogs, a number believed to reflect half of the total current population. The Utah prairie dog can do significant damage to farms by digging holes and eating crops, drawing the ire of Utah farmers, who have used poison liberally to destroy the animals. This is a major reason for the population decline, though there are other factors, such as "land development, deteriorating rangeland health, the encroachment of woody vegetation, sylvatic plague
Sylvatic plague is an infectious bacterial disease caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis'') that primarily affects rodents, such as prairie dogs. It is the same bacterium that causes bubonic and pneumonic plague in humans. Sylvatic, or ...
, bubonic_plague">nowiki/>bubonic_plague.html" ;"title="bubonic_plague.html" ;"title="nowiki/>bubonic plague">nowiki/>bubonic plague">bubonic_plague.html" ;"title="nowiki/>bubonic plague">nowiki/>bubonic plague and drought."
Conservation Efforts
Nature conservation, Conservation efforts include encouraging landowners to improve the health of their rangelands, and compensating farmers who set aside areas the prairie dogs may use. Conservationists
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...
also recommend seeding as a method of rangeland restoration, prescribed burning of vegetation, control of noxious weeds
A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...
, and general brush management to preserve Utah prairie dog habitats and food sources. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, alongwith the Utah Ecological Services Field Office, have published recovery plans with varying proposed strategies to protect Utah prairie dog populations. Some descriptions of such plans that have yet to be implemented include monitoring and developing a database for plague incidents, developing methods of natural disturbance responses (such as fire or drought), creating a volunteer-based stewardship program with the intention of educating and informing citizens, and establishing educational kiosks and Utah prairie dog viewing sites for the public. Additional conservation plans that are ongoing include those in which private landowners who contractually agree to habitat management or restoration receive financial and market-based incentives, endowment funds for the management and administration of protected properties are established, vegetation treatment in tactical areas are implemented, and strategies to further funding for outreach programs are developed. Many of these expensive recovery actions are anticipated to generate full recovery of the Utah prairie dog species by the decade of 2040, if properly adhered to proposed schedules.
References
Further reading
* Manno, Theodore G. ''The Utah Prairie Dog: Life among the Red Rocks''. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014.
External links
Smithsonian: North American Mammals: ''Cynomys parvidens''
Mammalian Species account for Utah prairie dog
Audio recordings of the Utah Prairie Dog
{{Taxonbar, from=Q304415
Prairie dogs
Fauna of the Southwestern United States
Mammals of the United States
Endemic fauna of Utah
Mammals described in 1905
ESA threatened species