Print PageUrbanization and habitat fragmentation, as well as ongoing lethal control measures, have reduced the range of the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) by an estimated 98% since the beginning of the 20th century. As a result of ongoing urban development, some prairie dog colonies persist within fragmented urban habitat. Black-tailed prairie dogs are a highly interactive species that can influence bird species diversity, abundance, and richness. Past research was conducted on native prairie and few studies investigated whether these interactions persist in an urban setting. Prairie dogs in urban areas have modified behavioral patterns and interactions with plant species, but nothing is yet known about their interactions with other wildlife species in human-dominated landscapes. We performed bird counts on twenty habitat fragments (ten colonized by prairie dogs, ten uncolonized by prairie dogs) spread throughout the Denver, Colorado, USA metropolitan area, and calculated Shannon-Weiner diversity and species counts within specific avian guilds.
Results/Conclusions
Mean avian diversity increased significantly with increasing fragment connectivity, and decreased on fragments isolated for longer periods of time. The role of habitat age in predicting avian diversity may suggest extinction debt dynamics occur in this system. Avian diversity did not differ between fragments with prairie dogs and fragments without prairie dogs, suggesting that this element of the keystone role of prairie dogs is not retained in urban habitat. Future studies of the ecological role of prairie dogs in urban systems should include other taxa as well as incorporate the role of the urban matrix surrounding prairie dog habitat.
