文章基本信息

标题：Black-footed ferrets and recreational shooting influence the attributes of black-tailed prairie dog burrows
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作者：Biggins, Dean E. ; Ramakrishnan, Shantini ; Goldberg, Amanda R. 等
期刊名称：Western North American Naturalist
印刷版ISSN：1527-0904
出版年度：2012
卷号：72
期号：2
页码：5
出版社：Brigham Young University
摘要：Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) plug burrows occupied by black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), and they also plug burrows to entomb dead prairie dogs. We further evaluated these phenomena by sampling connectivity and plugging of burrow openings on prairie dog colonies occupied by ferrets, colonies where recreational shooting was allowed, and colonies with neither shooting nor ferrets. We counted burrow openings on line surveys and within plots, classified surface plugging, and used an air blower to examine subsurface connectivity. Colonies with ferrets had lower densities of openings, fewer connected openings (suggesting increased subsurface plugging), and more surface plugs compared to colonies with no known ferrets. Colonies with recreational shooting had the lowest densities of burrow openings, and line-survey data suggested colonies with shooting had intermediate rates of surface plugging. The extent of surface and subsurface plugging could have consequences for the prairie dog community by changing air circulation and escape routes of burrow systems and by altering energetic relationships. Burrow plugging might reduce prairie dogs’ risk of predation by ferrets while increasing risk of predation by American badgers (Taxidea taxus); however, the complexity of the trade-off is increased if plugging increases the risk of predation on ferrets by badgers. Prairie dogs expend more energy plugging and digging when ferrets or shooting are present, and ferrets increase their energy expenditures when they dig to remove those plugs. Microclimatic differences in plugged burrow systems may play a role in flea ecology and persistence of the flea-borne bacterium that causes plague (Yersinia pestis).El perro llanero de cola negra (Cynomys ludovicianus) tapa las madrigueras que ocupan los hurones de patas negras (Mustela nigripes). También tapa las madrigueras para enterrar los cuerpos de otros perros llaneros muertos. Llevamos a cabo más evaluaciones de este fenómeno al hacer un muestreo de la conectividad y el taponamiento de madrigueras en colonias de perros llaneros ocupadas por hurones, en colonias donde se permite la cacería recreativa y también en colonias en donde no se permite la cacería ni tampoco habitan hurones. Contamos las madrigueras abiertas en líneas de muestreo y dentro de los cuadrantes, clasificamos el taponamiento de la superficie y usamos un ventilador para examinar la conectividad subterránea de las madrigueras. Las colonias con hurones tuvieron una densidad menor de madrigueras abiertas, menos madrigueras conectadas entre sí (lo cual indica un aumento en el taponamiento del subsuelo) y más taponamientos hechos en la superficie en comparación con las