Utah prairie dogs shed twice a year. (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Cynomys parivdens was previously listed as endangered. The Utah prairie dog had become endangered due to several factors. These include diseases, poisoning, droughts, and habitat alterations for cultivation and grazing. Plague outbreaks occur when a colony is overpopulated and there is increased stress on the individuals. From 1972 to 1989 a transplant program was initiated to move Cynomys parvidens from private agricultural areas to pubilic land sites. This program proved successful and the species was reclassified to threatened in May, 1984. (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: endangered
Utah prairie dogs can cause serious crop and equipment damage in agricultural areas. (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
Utah prairie dogs are mostly herbivorous. They prefer flowers and seeds over grass, however grass is available more often than seasonal flowers and seeds. Young leaves are preferred over old leaves and stems are rarely eaten. Young Utah prairie dogs prefer dead vegetation and cattle feces. Cynomys parvidens eat insects (cicadas) when available. (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
North America - Southwest area of Utah. There are three main concentration of colonies: Awapa Plateau, East Fork and the main stem of the Sevier River and eastern Iron County. Cynomys parvidens is the westernmost member of the genus Cynomys .
(US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Certain soil and vegetation characteristics must be met in order for Utah prairie dogs to establish a colony in a particular prairie. The area must be well-drained and have soil deep enough for protection against predators and for insulation during the winter. Cynomys parvidens must be able to dig one meter deep without getting wet. The vegetation must be low enough to allow the prairie dogs to scan the environment for predators. The range of Cynomys parividens is restricted by climate, physical, and biological barriers. The western region has higher temperatures and a drier climate and the tall grass restricts viewing of the surroundings. Mountains and deserts to the east, west and south may be impassible. Competiton with Uinta ground squirrel (Spermophilus armatus) probably limits expansion as well. (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Utah prairie dogs are the smallest of all prairie dogs. The back is cinnamon in color and the tail is almost all white. The belly is also cinnamon but brighter than the back. The upper lip and chin are white and there are dark brown spots above and below the eyes. Females have five pairs of mammae. The first upper premolar is more strongly developed than in other Cynomys species and almost equal in size to the second premolar. Total length of the body is 305 to 360 mm. The tail length is 30 to 60 mm and the hind foot is 55 to 66 mm long. The ears are 12 to 16 mm long. (Parker 1990, US Fish and Wildlife Service 1991).
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The gestation period lasts about 30 days and young are born in April. There are between 3 and 4 young per litter. Adult size is reached in October and adults become sexually mature when one year old. (US FIsh and Wildlife Service 1991).
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
The Great Basin shrub steppe is one of the ecoregions inhabited by the Utah prairie dog. The Great Basin shrub steppe ecoregion is situated in the most northerly of the four American deserts. Unlike the other three, which have almost exclusive ties to warm-temperate and tropical/subtropical vegetation types, the Great Basin has affinities with cold-temperate vegetation.
Dominant plant species in the region include such distinctly cold-temperate species as sagebrushes (Artemisia), saltbrushes (Atriplex), and Winter-fat (Ceratoides lanata). These scrub species are much-branched, non-sprouting, aromatic semi-shrubs with soft wood and evergreen leaves. The Great Basin also contains species with evolutionary ties to warmer climates, such as rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus), blackbrush (Coleogyne), hopsage (grayia) and horsebrush (Tetradymia). The region, however, contains few cacti species, either in numbers of individuals or species, and also lacks most characteristic desert plants in minor drainages.
Some other notable mammals found in the Great Basin ecoregion are: Belding's ground squirrel (Spermophilus beldingi); Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris); Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis); Bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea); Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis); Canyon mouse (Peromyscus crinitus); Cliff chipmunk (Tamias dorsalis); Coyote (Canis latrans); Desert cottontail (Crotaphytus insularis); North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum).
Anuran taxa found in the Great Basin scrub steppe are eight in number: the Black toad (Anaxyrus exsul VU); Great Basin spadefoot toad (Spea intermontana); Northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens); Pacific treefrog (Pseudacris regilla); Northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora); Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris); Southwestern toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus); and Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii). The Tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinis) is the sole salamander found in this ecoregion.
The Great Basin holds numerous reptilian taxa: Bluntnose leopard lizard (Gambelia sila EN); Common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula); Sierra gartersnake (Thamnophis couchii); Black-collared lizard (Crotaphytus insularis); Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos); Desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister); Western gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer); Ground snake (Sonora semiannulata); Long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii); Long-nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei); Milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum); Panamint alligator lizard (Elgaria panamintina), a California endemic found only in the following desert mountains: Panamint, Inyo, Nelson, White, Cosos and Argus; Yellow-bellied racer (Coluber constrictor); Ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus); Sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus); Pygmy short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii); Side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana); Striped whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus); Western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus); Western patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis); Western pond turtle (Emys marmorata); Western terrestrial garter snake (Thamnophis elegans); Tiger whiptail (Cnemidophorus tigris); Zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides); Rubber boa (Charina bottae); and Night snake (Hypsiglena torquata).
A large number of bird species occur within the Great Basin, either as resident or migratory taxa. Example avian species found here are: Lewis's woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis); Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitans); Pinyon jay (Phainopepla nitans VU), a specialist found in pinyon-juniper woodlands; Greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus NT); Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis).
The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is the smallest species of prairie dog endemic to the south-central steppes of the American state of Utah.
The species is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with a status of Endangered. Because of this, it is a protected species; the prairie dog faces various threats - the most dangerous being habitat loss and disease.
The fur of Utah prairie dogs is multicolored, which consists of black, brown, and dark brown at the tip. Their faces have dark brown cheeks and whitish tone around their chins and mouth.[3] Utah prairie dogs also have distinctly clay colored proximal tail parts and dorsum, as well as dark eyebrows.[4] In terms of taxonomy, there are two subgenera of prairie dogs: "black-tailed" prairie dogs and "white-tailed" prairie dogs. Utah prairie dogs are a member of the latter of the two groups and the subgenus Leucrossuromys. Utah prairie dogs may have been part of the interbreeding species of white-tailed prairie dogs but their differences are a result of what is known as allopatric speciation - separation of a species by physiographic and ecological barriers.[5]
The total body length of typical adult Utah prairie dogs ranges from 30.5 cm to 36.0 cm with 3 cm to 6 cm of tail.[3] Adult prairie dogs weigh about 0.77 kg to 1.41 kg in males, and 0.64 kg to 1.13 kg in females.[6] Utah prairie dogs exhibit sexual dimorphism; males are 27% bigger than females, although the ratio varies by season.[7] Their body weights can span from .3 kg to .9 kg in the spring, and .5 kg to 1.5 kg in the summer for males.[5] In 1952, Durant noted that the Utah prairie dog has a skull larger than that of the Gunnison's prairie dog.[8]
Utah prairie dogs are only found in the southern part of Utah. They have the most constrained range when compared to the other four species of prairie dogs in the United States (Gunnison's prairie dog, Mexican prairie dog, the white-tailed prairie dog, and the black-tailed prairie dog) - none of which overlap geographic territories.[9] Today the Utah prairie dog is only found in the central and southwestern part of Utah in Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Piute, Sevier, and Wayne Counties.[10] However, it was recorded that Utah prairie dogs existed as far north as Nephi, as far south as the pine fir forests of Bryce Canyon National Park, and Aquarius Plateau to the east in 1920, but the number declined from the 1920s to 1970s by 87%. This reduction was thought to be a result of human settlers who caused overgrazing of soil, and thus catalyzed the invasion of shrub to the grass land.[3]
Utah prairie dogs prefer swale land area with abundant herbaceous plants. They build burrows on soil with adequate drain ability, depth to protect themselves from predators (a minimum of 3.3 feet deep), and appropriately colored soil for camouflage purposes. Other environmental factors such as temperature influence the building process, such as insulation prospects.[11][12][10][5][13] Agricultural properties often provide Utah prairie dogs with suitable habitats, but when populations get too dense, outbreaks of plagues become common (of which fleas are the typical vectors) and can demolish entire colonies.[14]
Utah prairie dogs are mainly herbivores, but they sometimes choose small insects, such as cicadas.[15] They highly prefer grasses and forbs but they also do consume flowers in shrubs. Utah prairie dogs choose only a few species of grasses that are native to their surrounding soil.[16] Eating green vegetation and forbs of high quality allows them to obtain large quantities of protein and energy, which is critical for activities such as lactation and hibernation.[5]
Utah prairie dogs show polyandry behavior, and lay only one litter per year, which generally consists of one to eight pups, with a mean of 3.88 pups.[17] The size of litters directly correlate with maternal body mass. However, approximately twenty percent of the litter may be eradicated due to males cannibalizing juvenile Utah prairie dogs.[16] The gestation period of a female Utah prairie dog is approximately 28 days.[18] The breeding occurs generally from mid-March through early April.[17] Female estrus occurs for just one day, for only a few hours during this breeding season. Nevertheless, this atypical cycle is sustainable because on average, ninety-seven percent of adult females are in conditions conducive to breeding and thus produce litters.[14] The life expectancy of Utah prairie dogs is around five years.[16]
They build extensive "towns" of tunnels and chambers. Each town's population is the members of an extended prairie dog family group called a "clan", which comprises an adult male, a few adult females, and their juveniles, who work to maintain boundaries of geographic territories.[14] They forage from dawn to dusk.[15] Prairie dogs are particularly social animals and demonstrate communal behavior.[18] They hibernate during the harshest months of the winter for about four to six months and emerge by late February or early March, and occasionally during mild conditions. Adult male prairie dogs begin hibernation around August or September and their female counterparts do the same a few weeks afterwards. Younger generations go into hibernation one to two months later, towards the end of November.[14]
The primary predators of Utah prairie dogs include badgers (Taxidea taxis), many species of raptors (Aquila chrysaetos, Buteo spp.), coyotes (Canis latrans), snakes (Pituophus spp., Crotalus spp.), and long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata). However, predators don't pose a significant threat to the numbers of prairie dogs in well-established colonies.[14]
Utah prairie dogs act as a keystone species for their ecosystem - they are responsible for enhancing landscape heterogeneity, mitigating the height of local vegetation, mixing soil by burrowing (which in turn aids in the nitrogen uptake of plants), and altering the chemistry of the soil by making it more porous and allowing for precipitation and organic matter to penetrate the ground. Other animals including rabbits, badgers, ground squirrels, and burrowing owls rely on the burrows and conditions that Utah prairie dogs generate.[5]
The species appears in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with a status of Endangered, last assessed on July 11, 2016.[1]
The Utah prairie dog is listed as a threatened species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. They have also been considered federally threatened since the year 1984.[19] They are protected under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA).[20] In 1920 there were approximately 95,000 Utah prairie dogs and over the span of around 50 years, the population was decimated by an estimated 50%. Reports have shown that this was a result of population control programs that were instituted in the 1920s, unregulated shooting, and poisoning.[21] Other factors that contributed to this drastic reduction include diseases, increased aridity, overgrazing of habitats and habitat loss, epizootic infections, cultivated agriculture, invasive plant species, climate change, poaching, the exploration and development of energy resources, off-highway vehicle recreation, fire management, and urban development.[4][22] In 1972, studies estimated a population of 3,300 Utah prairie dogs in 37 colonies. Studies by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in spring 2004 reported 4,022 Utah prairie dogs, a number believed to reflect half of the total current population.[23] The Utah prairie dog can do significant damage to farms by digging holes and eating crops, drawing the ire of Utah farmers, who have used poison liberally to destroy the animals.[24] This is a major reason for the population decline, though there are other factors, such as "land development, deteriorating rangeland health, the encroachment of woody vegetation, sylvatic plague, [bubonic plague], and drought."
Conservation efforts include encouraging landowners to improve the health of their rangelands, and compensating farmers who set aside areas the prairie dogs may use.[24] Conservationists also recommend seeding as a method of rangeland restoration, prescribed burning of vegetation, control of noxious weeds, and general brush management to preserve Utah prairie dog habitats and food sources.[25] The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the Utah Ecological Services Field Office, have published recovery plans with varying proposed strategies to protect Utah prairie dog populations. Some descriptions of such plans that have yet to be implemented include monitoring and developing a database for plague incidents, developing methods of natural disturbance responses (such as fire or drought), creating a volunteer-based stewardship program with the intention of educating and informing citizens, and establishing educational kiosks and Utah prairie dog viewing sites for the public. Additional conservation plans that are ongoing include those in which private landowners who contractually agree to habitat management or restoration receive financial and market-based incentives, endowment funds for the management and administration of protected properties are established, vegetation treatment in tactical areas are implemented, and strategies to further funding for outreach programs are developed. Many of these expensive recovery actions are anticipated to generate full recovery of the Utah prairie dog species by the decade of 2040, if properly adhered to proposed schedules.[26]
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{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is the smallest species of prairie dog endemic to the south-central steppes of the American state of Utah.
The species is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with a status of Endangered. Because of this, it is a protected species; the prairie dog faces various threats - the most dangerous being habitat loss and disease.
