9622137 Lomolino Prairie dogs appear to be keystone species, strongly influencing community structure and creating a dynamic landscape across short grass and mixed grass prairies. Prairie dog colonies once covered some 100 million ha of North America. Now, their numbers and range may have been reduced to less than 5% of their historic levels. Continued decline of this keystone species threatens many native plants and animals that are dependent on prairie dog colonies. In Oklahoma, some 48 vertebrate species, many of which are threatened or endangered, appear to be associated with prairie dog colonies. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors influencing establishment, persistence, and diversity of prairie dog communities. The investigators will test the hypothesis that the structure of these communities results, in part, from deterministic and species selective immigrations, extinctions and interspecific interactions. This research will also test the utility of a species-based, hierarchical model of island biogeography to explain patterns in biodiversity of prairie dog colonies. This research represents an important, multi-species approach for conserving biodiversity of native prairie communities, and will provide general insights for conservation biology and biogeography of other terrestrial communities.
