Summary Information
Gunnison's Prairie Dog Relocation Project: Vegetation Cover Data from the Sevilleta National Wildife Refuge, New Mexico (2005-2013)
Creator:
Individual: Ana Davidson
Physical Address:
Delivery Address: Sevilleta LTER, 167 Castetter Hall, University of New Mexico
City: Albuquerque
Locality: NM
Postal Code: 87131
Phone: US
Email: davidson@unm.edu
Creator:
Individual: David Lightfoot
Physical Address:
Delivery Address: Sevilleta LTER, 167 Castetter Hall, University of New Mexico
City: Albuquerque
Locality: NM
Postal Code: 87131
Phone: US
Email: dlightfo@unm.edu
Metadata Provider:
Individual: Information Manager Sevilleta LTER
Physical Address:
Delivery Address: 1 University of New Mexico
City: Albuquerque
Postal Code: 87131
Phone: US
Phone: (505) 277-2109
Phone: (505) 277.5355
Email: data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu
Publication Date: 2016-03-28
Language: English
Abstract:
Prairie dogs are keystone species that impact both animals and plants in grassland habitats. They are a food resource for secondary consumers such as badgers, foxes, and raptors. Also, the mounds that they construct are home to many arthropod and reptile species that otherwise might not survive in grasslands. Both Gunnison’s and black-tailed prairie dogs can increase the number of plant species in grasslands and landscape heterogeneity with their ecosystem engineering that creates disturbed patches on the landscape. Gunnison’s prairie dogs, which were native herbivores at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) before their populations disappeared, were reintroduced at the Sevilleta NWR in 1997, 2005, and 2008. In 1998, a Gunnison’s prairie dog colony naturally established along the northern border on the east side of the Refuge. The naturally occurring colony and the colony that was reintroduced in 1997 have since then severely declined or gone locally extinct. Still, with the removal of cattle from the Sevilleta in 1973, the reintroductions of Gunnison’s prairie dogs in 2005 and 2008 provides an interesting opportunity to study how a native keystone herbivore affects a grassland habitat without the pressures and competition from livestock.
Keywords:
Keyword: disturbance
Keyword: populations
Keyword Thesaurus: Core Areas
Keywords:
Keyword: disturbances
Keyword: canopy cover
Keyword: deserts
Keyword: grasslands
Keyword: small mammals
Keyword Thesaurus: LTER Controlled Vocabulary
Additional Information:
More information about who is involved with the samples/data: Mike Friggens 1999-September 2001Karen Wetherill February 7, 2000-Augst 2009Terri Koontz February 2000-August 2003 August 2006-PresentShana Pennington February 2000-August 2000Heather Simpson August 2000-August 2002Chris Roberts September 2001-August 2002Caleb Hickman September 9, 2002-November 15, 2004Seth Munson September 9, 2002-June 2004Maya Kapoor August 9, 2003-January 21, 2005 March 2010-March 2011Tessa Edelen August 15, 2004-August 15, 2005Charity Hall January 31, 2005-January 3, 2006Yang Xia January 31, 2005-PresentMichell Thomey September 3, 2005-August 2008Jay McLeod January 2006-August 2006Amaris Swann August 25, 2008-Jan 2013John Mulhouse August 2009-PresentAmanda Boutz August 2009-May 2010Stephanie Baker October 2010-PresentMegan McClung April 2013-Present Additional Study Area Information Study Area Name: Prairie Dog Town Study Area Location: The study area is about 655 ha (~2.5 sq mi) in size and approximately1 km due west from the foothills of the Los Pinos Mountains. The study is also just north of the Blue Grama Core Site.Elevation: 1670 mSoils: sandy loam and sandy clay loamSite history: historically large prairie dog colonies inhabited the study area
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. A copy of any publications using these data must be supplied to the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager.
Distribution:
Online:
URL: http://sev.lternet.edu/data/sev-212
Coverage:
Geographic Goverage:
Geographic Description: 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   34.324
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: 2005-04-24
End Date:
Calendar Date: 2013-04-17
Maintenance Information:
Description:
Data were qa/qced and obvious errors were corrected. A column for height was added to the data since we added to the protocol a height measurement in 2009. We also added in 2008 prairie dog fecal counts and in 2009 prairie dog disturbance measurements. Previous data were explored to renter past height measurements along with adding disturbance and prairie dog fecal pellet counts to the data. These measurements were not recorded for all years. 11 January 2010 tlk
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
Physical Address:
Delivery Address: 1 University of New Mexico
City: Albuquerque
Postal Code: 87131
Phone: US
Phone: (505) 277-2109
Phone: (505) 277.5355
Email: data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu
Publisher:
Individual: Information Manager Sevilleta LTER
Physical Address:
Delivery Address: 1 University of New Mexico
City: Albuquerque
Postal Code: 87131
Phone: US
Phone: (505) 277-2109
Phone: (505) 277.5355
Email: data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu
Publication Place: Sevilleta LTER
Method Step:
Description:
Experimental Design Three psuedo-replicates in a paired plot design: 1)plots where prairie dogs have been reintroduced and 2)control plots.Sampling Design Each 100 x 100m plot contains 36 sample units (quads) that are 20m apart in a 6 x 6 grid. These quads are numbered in a zig zag pattern starting in the NE corner of the plot where the first six quads go north to south, the next six plots that are west of the first quads go south to north, and so on for the remaining quads on the plot. These quads are marked by a numbered rebar stake.Field/laboratory Procedures A 50 x 50 cm quadrat separated into twenty-five 10 x 10 cm squares are placed southeast of a small white pvc pipe that marks permanent subplots. Then, percent covers and highest height are estimated for each plant species into palmtop computers. Species occupying less than 1%, a quarter of a 10 x 10 cm square, are recorded 0.1 %. When estimating plant species percent covers yellow and green plant material are included in the measurement. Individual plants that are completely gray, containing no yellow or green foliage, are not assessed in the percent cover estimate. For highest height, the ‘average’ height of the foliage for perennialspecies is recorded and for annual plant species the height to the top of the inflorescence, flowers and fruits,is recorded. The estimate of percent cover of disturbance from prairie dogs is the same as the plant cover estimates. Finally, all prairie dog fecal pellets that are in the quadrat, subplot, are counted.
Data Table:
Entity Name: sev212_pdogvegcover_20130509.txt
Entity Description: Data for Vegetation Cover at Prairie Dog Reintroduction Study
Object Name: sev212_pdogvegcover_20130509.txt
Size: 591313
Data Format:
Text Format:
Number of Header Lines: 1
Record Delimiter: \r\n
Attribute Orientation: column
Simple Delimited:
Field Delimiter: ,
Quote Character: "
Distribution:
Online:
URL: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-sev/212/4/2e29545adb5c8f47d8211e2ede191eff
Coverage:
Temporal Coverage:
Date Range:
Begin Date:
Calendar Date: 2005-04-24
End Date:
Calendar Date: 2013-04-17
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
Missing Value Code:
Code: .
Code Explanation: missing
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: 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: Plot
Attribute Label: PLOT
Attribute Definition: Plot where samples were collected. Treatment plots are where prairie dogs have been reintroduced.
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: NT
Definition: north treatment
Code Definition:
Code: NC
Definition: north control
Code Definition:
Code: MT
Definition: middle treatment
Code Definition:
Code: MC
Definition: middle control
Code Definition:
Code: ST
Definition: south treatment
Code Definition:
Code: SC
Definition: south control
Attribute Name: Quad
Attribute Label: QUAD
Attribute Definition: Number of sample unit of a plot
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Text Domain:
Definition: Number of sample unit of a plot
Attribute Name: Species code
Attribute Label: SPECIES_CODE
Attribute Definition: Kartez code that represents the first two letters of the genus followed by the first two letters of the species. See metadata, as there may be other codes that relate to disturbance or feces.
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Text Domain:
Definition: Kartez code that represents the first two letters of the genus followed by the first two letters of the species. See metadata, as there may be other codes that relate to disturbance or feces.
Attribute Name: Cover
Attribute Label: COVER
Attribute Definition: Percentage of a species or disturbance or number of fecal pellets that is occupying a 50 cm x 50 cm area.
Measurement Scale:
Ratio:
Unit:
Custom Unit: percent
Precision: 0.1
Numeric Domain:
Number Type: real
Bounds:
Minimum: 0
Maximum: 100
Missing Value Code:
Code: .
Code Explanation: missing
Attribute Name: Height
Attribute Label: HEIGHT
Attribute Definition: Maximum height of plant. For perennial grasses, maximum height for green foliage, for herbs and annuals, maximum height of inflorescence.
Measurement Scale:
Ratio:
Unit:
Standard Unit: centimeter
Precision: 1
Numeric Domain:
Number Type: real
Bounds:
Minimum: 0
Maximum: 100
Missing Value Code:
Code: .
Code Explanation: missing
Attribute Name: Comments
Attribute Label: COMMENTS
Attribute Definition: Notes or comments for a particular observation for information not included in other data variables
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Text Domain:
Definition: Notes or comments for a particular observation for information not included in other data variables
ratio of two quantities as percent composition (1:100)