Predation of Artificial Ground Nests on White-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies

Abstract

Prairie dog (Cyuomys spp. 1 colonies are unique to prairie and shrub-steppe landscapes However, widespread eradication, habitat loss, and sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis) have reduced their numbers by 98% since historical times. Birds associated with prairie dogs also are declining. Potential nest predators, such as coyotes (Canis latrans), swift foxes (Vulpes velox), and badgers (Taxidea taxus), may be attracted to colonies where a high concentration of prairie dogs serve as available prey, Increased abundance of small manimals, including prairie dogs, also may increase the risk of predation for birds nesting on colonies. Finally, because grazing by prairie dogs may decrease vegetation height and canopy cover, bird nests may be easier for predators to locate. In this study we placed 1.444 artificial ground nests on and off 74 white-tailed prairie dog (C. leucurus) colonies to test the hypothesis that nest predation rates are higher on colonies than at nearby off sites (i.e., uncolonized habitat) We sampled colonies from 27 May to 16 July 1997 at the following 3 complexes: Covote Basin, Utah and Colorado: Moxa Arch, Wyoming; and Shirley Basin, Wyoming, Differences in daily predation rates between colonies and paired off sites averaged 1.0% ( P = 0.060). When converted to a typical 14-day incubation period, predation rates averaged 14% higher on colonies (57.7 ± 2.7%, x ± SE) than at off sites (50.4 ± 3.1%) Comparisons of habitat variables on colonies to off sites showed percent canopy cover of vegetation was similar (P = 0.114) percent bare ground was highe on colonies (P 0.288), Although we found the risk of nest predation was higher on hite-tailed prairie dog colonies than at off sites, fitness of birds nesting on colonies might depend on other factors that influence foraging success, reproductive success, or nestling survival.