Summary Information
Gunnison's Prairie Dog Restoration Experiment (GPDREx): Population Dynamics within Grasslands at the Sevilleta National Widlife Refuge, New Mexico
Creator: Individual: Ana Davidson Organization: SEV LTER Physical Address: Delivery Address: Sevilleta LTER, 167 Castetter Hall, University of New Mexico City: Albuquerque Locality: NM Postal Code: 87131 Email: davidson@unm.edu System ID: 8862
Creator: Individual: Stephanie Baker Organization: SEV LTER Phone: (505) 277-8119 Email: srbaker@sevilleta.unm.edu
Associated Party: Individual: Stephanie Baker Organization: SEV LTER Phone: (505) 277-8119 Email: srbaker@sevilleta.unm.edu Role: data manager
Publication Date:	2015
Language:	english
Abstract: Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) are burrowing rodents considered to be ecosystem engineers and keystone species of the central grasslands of North America. Yet, prairie dog populations have declined by an estimated 98% throughout their historic range. This dramatic decline has resulted in the widespread loss of their important ecological role throughout this grassland system. The 92,060 ha Sevilleta NWR in central New Mexico includes more than 54,000 ha of native grassland. Gunnison’s prairie dogs (C. gunnisoni) were reported to occupy ~15,000 ha of what is now the SNWR during the 1960’s, prior to their systematic eradication. In 2010, we collaborated with local agencies and conservation organizations to restore the functional role of prairie dogs to the grassland system. Gunnison’s prairie dogs were reintroduced to a site that was occupied by prairie dogs 40 years ago.  This work is part of a larger, long-term study where we are studying the ecological effects of prairie dogs as they re-colonize the grassland ecosystem.
Keywords: Keyword: populations Keyword Thesaurus: Core Areas
Keywords: Keyword: populations Keyword: monitoring Keyword: trapping Keyword: grasslands Keyword: animals Keyword: vertebrates Keyword: mammals Keyword: small mammals Keyword Thesaurus: LTER Controlled Vocabulary
Intellectual Rights: Data Policies This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated Contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement of the Sevilleta LTER. Datasets must be cited as in the example below. Muldavin, E. 2004. Sevilleta LTER Fertilizer NPP Study Dataset. Albuquerque, NM: Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research Site Database: SEV155. (Date of download) A copy of any publications using these data must be supplied to the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager.
Distribution: Online: URL: http://sev.lternet.edu/node/7244
Coverage: Geographic Goverage: Geographic Description: Location: The study area is about 655 ha (~2.5 sq mi) in size and approximately 1 km due west from the foothills of the Los Pinos Mountains. The study is also just north of the Blue Grama Core Site.The center of plot B is:  -106.628  34.333The center of plot D is:   -106.636   34.324Soils: sandy loam and sandy clay loam, History: historically large prairie dog colonies inhabited the study area, siteid: 49 Bounding Coordinates: West Bounding Coordinates: -106.628 East Bounding Coordinates: -106.628 North Bounding Coordinates: 34.333 South Bounding Coordinates: 34.333 Bounding Altitude: Altitude Minimum: 1670 Altitude Maximum: 1670 Altitude Units: meter Temporal Coverage: Date Range: Begin Date: Calendar Date: 2010-06-18 End Date: Calendar Date: 2015-06-05
Contact: Position Title: Information Manager Organization: LTER Network Office Physical Address: Delivery Address: UNM Biology Department, MSC03-2020 Delivery Address: 1 University of New Mexico City: Albuquerque Locality: NM Postal Code: 87131-0001 Phone: USA Phone: 505 277-2535 Phone: 505 277-2541 Email: tech-support@lternet.edu URL: http://www.lternet.edu
Contact: Individual: Information Manager Sevilleta LTER Organization: SEV LTER Physical Address: Delivery Address: 1 University of New Mexico City: Albuquerque Postal Code: 87131 Phone: (505) 277-2109 Phone: (505) 277.5355 Email: data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu
Publication Place:	Sevilleta LTER
Method Step: Description: Experimental DesignFour replicate paired 16 ha plots were established in spring 2010. Each pair consists of a treatment plot with prairie dogs (reintroduced), which are plots B and D and a control plot with no prairie dogs (plots A and C). The closest distance between adjacent plots, either within a block or between blocks, is 200 m (Figure 1). The treatment and control within each pair were randomly assigned. Each plot is a 400x400 m on 9x9 grid array with systematically located sample locations for 81 vegetation quadrats. There are also 4 more plots, E and H are control plots and F and G are treatment plots. F and G have been equipped with artificial burrows and are release sites. However, E and H were not set up to do vegetation quads.Trapping PeriodPrairie dogs will be sampled using capture-recapture methods in the summer (3rd week of June) each year and spring (last week of March) and fall when possible.Pre-baiting ProcedureSet 150 traps within each 300m x 300m trapping area. Place traps in pairs near active burrows at least 4 days prior to trapping. At this time trap doors should be wired open (make certain all traps are properly wired open) with bait trailing from the outside into the back of (or through) the trap. Traps should be baited with sweet feed. Make sure that all traps are functioning properly by testing the trap door sensitivity and adjusting with pliers if needed. Pre-bait traps every morning for 3 days total. All pairs of traps should be numbered with one pin flag for each pair (1-75). All trap pairs should also be GPSed by their number and have maps made for ease of locating traps during trapping.Trapping ProceduresOn the morning of the first trapping day, well before sunrise, the wire should be removed from the traps and the traps then set and baited to capture animals. This can also be done the day before trapping begins. Prairie dogs should be trapped for 3 consecutive mornings.Each morning of trapping, make sure that the traps are all opened well before sunrise, so animals are not disturbed by human activity. This is very important. Traps should only be left opened during the early morning period, until about 10:00 or 11:00 am, depending on the weather conditions and time of year. Prairie dog activity declines by 10:00-11:00, so even if the weather conditions are fine for continued trapping, trap success after this time will decline. Traps should be collected by around 9:00 am, depending on the weather conditions and time of year, and all trapped animals should be brought to a common processing station. The team walks the plot to make sure and check every trap for dogs. As dogs are found trapped, a piece of masking tape is attached to the front of the trap, labeled with the trap number so that that animal can be released where it was trapped. Animals at the processing site should be kept at all times in the shade and carrots should be given to provide moisture during the heat and stress. Once animals have been processed they should be released into their burrow, at the location of their capture. All traps should then be closed for the day. To make sure all are closed, one person should close all the traps from one of the plots and mark the number on the GPS sheet to note the trap has been closed. This can also be done as a team effort, but traps need to be checked twice to make sure they are all closed.
Data Table: Entity Name: sev236_pdog_captures_20150630.txt Entity Description: Data for SEV236 Object Name: sev236_pdog_captures_20150630.txt Data Format: Text Format: Number of Header Lines: 1 Record Delimiter: \r\n Attribute Orientation: column Simple Delimited: Field Delimiter: , Distribution: Online: URL: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-sev/236/257686/acda7dac0a63ed6e0c06c3a9b68fed2c Coverage: Geographic Goverage: Geographic Description: Location: The study area is about 655 ha (~2.5 sq mi) in size and approximately 1 km due west from the foothills of the Los Pinos Mountains. The study is also just north of the Blue Grama Core Site.The center of plot B is:  -106.628  34.333The center of plot D is:   -106.636   34.324Soils: sandy loam and sandy clay loam, History: historically large prairie dog colonies inhabited the study area, siteid: 49 Bounding Coordinates: West Bounding Coordinates: -106.628 East Bounding Coordinates: -106.628 North Bounding Coordinates: 34.333 South Bounding Coordinates: 34.333 Bounding Altitude: Altitude Minimum: 1670 Altitude Maximum: 1670 Altitude Units: meter Temporal Coverage: Date Range: Begin Date: Calendar Date: 2010-06-08 End Date: Calendar Date: 2013-08-07 Attribute List: Attribute Name: DATE Attribute Label: DATE Attribute Definition: Date of data collection Storage Type: date Measurement Scale: Datetime: Format String: MM/DD/YYYY Attribute Name: Season Attribute Label: SEASON Attribute Definition: the time of year when measurements were collected Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Enumerated Domain: Code Definition: Code: S Definition: spring Code Definition: Code: F Definition: fall Attribute Name: YEAR Attribute Label: YEAR Attribute Definition: The year in which data was collected. Storage Type: date Measurement Scale: Datetime: Format String: YYYY Attribute Name: PLOT Attribute Label: PLOT Attribute Definition: Plot within study design. Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: Plot within study design. Attribute Name: TRAP Attribute Label: TRAP Attribute Definition: The particular number for the trap. Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: The particular number for the trap. Attribute Name: RECAP Attribute Label: RECAP Attribute Definition: Defines the release status of the prairie dog. Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Enumerated Domain: Code Definition: Code: RELEASE Definition: A new release Code Definition: Code: N Definition: Trapped dog; New/no tags when caught Code Definition: Code: PR Definition: Trapped dog; recapture from previous years Code Definition: Code: R Definition: Trapped dog; recapture from this trapping season Attribute Name: TAG_1_LT Attribute Label: TAG_1_LT Attribute Definition: Tag number on left ear Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: Tag number on left ear Attribute Name: TAG_2_RT Attribute Label: TAG_2_RT Attribute Definition: Tag number on right ear Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: Tag number on right ear Attribute Name: pit tag Attribute Label: PIT_TAG Attribute Definition: Pit tag number Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: Pit tag number Attribute Name: SEX Attribute Label: SEX Attribute Definition: The sex of the animal Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Enumerated Domain: Code Definition: Code: F Definition: female Code Definition: Code: M Definition: male Attribute Name: AGE Attribute Label: AGE Attribute Definition: The age of the animal Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Enumerated Domain: Code Definition: Code: A Definition: adult Code Definition: Code: J Definition: juvenile Attribute Name: MASS Attribute Label: MASS Attribute Definition: Mass of animal in grams Measurement Scale: Ratio: Unit: Custom Unit: grams Numeric Domain: Number Type: real Attribute Name: Comments Attribute Label: Comments Attribute Definition: comments Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: comments Attribute Name: Capture_Site Attribute Label: Capture_Site Attribute Definition: The site where a released prairie dog came from originally. Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: Nominal: Non Numeric Domain: Text Domain: Definition: The site where a released prairie dog came from originally.