Ecology of Mexican Prairie Dogs, Cynomys mexicanus, in El Manantial, Northeastern Mexico

Abstract

The Mexican prairie dog ( Cynomys mexicanus ) is an endangered species that is endemic to northeastern Mexico. To obtain basic data on diet, parasites, reproduction, relationship with other small mammals, and predators, during the spring and summer, we studied a prairie dog colony at El Manantial, San Luis Potosi, northeastern Mexico. Mexican prairie dogs preferentially fed on grasses in the spring, but as grasses matured, prairie dogs changed to a diet principally composed of forbs. Prairie dogs exhibited low levels of parasitism. Breeding peaked from mid-January to early February, but extended, at low levels, into early April. Nocturnal rodents and lagomorphs were more abundant and had a higher species richness on an abandoned prairie dog colony than on the active one, except for grasshopper mice ( Onychomys arenarius ) which were less abundant on the abandoned colony site. Coyotes ( Canis latrans ) appeared to be the most important predators of prairie dogs.