When do prairie dogs reproduce

Black-tailed prairie dogs are easily distinguished from Mexican prairie dogs because of non-overlapping geographic ranges. In addition, C. In addition to having mainly non-overlapping ranges, members of Leucocrossuromys all hibernate, have white- to gray-tipped tails, have smaller molars, and possess distinctly different territorial and antipredator vocalizations than do black-tailed prairie dogs.

Mating is closely related to social structure in these animals. The typical mating pattern is polygynous, with a single male mating with multiple females in his home coterie. However, in some cases, more than one male may be resident in a single, large coterie. In these cases, females within the coterie may mate with both resident males.

In such cases, the first male to copulate with the female sires more offspring than does the second. Additionally, there appears to be some communal nursing of young after the time they appear above ground, qualifying the species for status as a cooperative breeder.

Hoogland, ; Hoogland, Reproduction occurs once per year, with the exact timing of mating varying with latitude. In Oklahoma, breeding takes place in January; in Colorado breeding takes place in February. Between late February and March,balck-tailed prairie dogs in South Dakota breed. Finally, those animals residing in the northern portions of the species range breed in late March and early April.

Females of this species are typically sexually receptive only one day of the year. Females failing to conceive after this initial estrus sometimes enter estrus a second time about 13 days after their first estrus. This probably helps to reduce intermale competition for females. Several behaviors are associated with mating both underground and above ground. These include frequent entrance of a breeding male and estrus female into the same burrow; very high frequency of interaction between the male and female; self licking of genitals in both male and female; gathering of nesting materials by males, and transport of those materials into a burrow; and a later than normal nighttime entrance into the burrow by estrus females.

In additon, male black-tailed prairie dogs have a unique vocalization that is associated only with mating behaviors. Gestation ranges in length from 33 to 38 days, with a mean of Litter sizes ate birth range from 1 to 8 young, with a mean litter size at emergence from the burrow of 3 young. Young are altricial, being born blind, naked, and mostly helpless.

Neonates measure approximately 70 mm in length, and weigh an average of 15 g. Fur is evident by the age of 3 weeks, and eyes are open by approximately 5 weeks of age. The age at weaning varies with litter size, as larger litters nurse longer than smaller litters. Lactation lasts from 37 to 51 days, with a mean of The termination of lactation occurs shortly after emergence from the natal burrow, and after emergence but prior to the end of lactation, pups may nurse from females other than their own mother.

Sexual dimorphism in size is already established by the time juveniles emerge from tehir natal burrows. Males weigh an average of g at emergence and females weigh an average of g. By October, males have acheived an average weight of g, and females an average of g.

Females remain in their natal coterie for life, but males disperse as yearlings. This results in minimization of inbreeding. Also, adult males rarely remain within the same coterie for more than two breeding seasons, thus reducing the possibility that they will mate with their female offspring. The age of sexual maturity varies.

Although most black-tailed prairie dogs copulate for the first time as two-year-olds, some reach maturity earlier or later. Males show sexual asymmetry, being less likely than females to breed as yearlings, and more likely than females to dely reproduction until their third year. Female C. Successful reproduction is positively related to female age. Failure to give birth results from both failure of conception, resorption of embryos, and miscarriage of pregnancies.

Cynomys lodovicianus pups are altricial. They require a large investment by parents in order to ensure their survival. Males are not directly involved in caring for young, but help to protect pups within their coteries by defending the coterie against strange males. The bulk of parental care is provided by females, who nurse, groom, and protect their offspring.

Because of the prevalance of infanticide in this species, young are very vulnerable prior to emergence from their natal burrows. After emergence from the burrow, however, young are less vulnerable. They eat solid foods primarily, although they continue to nurse for about one week.

Interestingly, females in the coterie frequently nurse emergent pups other than their own offspring. As is true for most mammals, most black-tailed prairie dogs die young. Females can live to be up to eight years old, whereas males don't tend to live longer than 5 years under natural conditions. Prairie dogs are the most social of the ground- dwelling sciurids. Prairie dog colonies, or towns, may contain hundreds of individuals living within a very restricted area.

The largest colony ever recorded occured in Texas. Within the town there are certain neighborhoods, or coteries. Females typically remain in their natal coterie, whereas males disperse to a nearby coterie. Each coterie is populated by a group of closely related females sister, mothers, aunts and one or two territorial males.

When multiple males are found in a single coterie, they are often brothers. Territories are defended aggressively from neighbors. Within the coterie, all things are shared most of the time. Burrow systems and food supplies are communal property. The only exception to this is during rearing of young, when females are aggressive toward one another and defend their burrows and nests from other prairie dogs.

Territorial defense is usually shared by all members of the coterie. Male prairie dogs respond strongly to intrusions of other male prairie dogs, but seem oblivious to invading females.

Female prairie dogs, by contrast, show the most aggression toward invading females. Praire dogs have long been noted for their highly social behavior. There is often playing, muzzling, mutal grooming, and a great deal of vocal communication. Uresk D. Hansen R. Flora and fauna associated with prairie dog colonies and adjacent ungrazed mixed-grass prairie in western South Dakota. Journal of Range Management 39 : — Google Scholar.

Armitage K. Social and population dynamics of yellow-bellied marmots: results from long-term research. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 22 : — Aschwanden C.

Learning to live with prairie dogs. Balph D. Spatial and social behavior in a population of Uinta ground squirrels: interrelations with climate and annual cycle. Murie and G. Michener, eds. The University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.

Barnes A. Surveillance and control of bubonic plague in the United States. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 50 : — A review of plague and its relevance to prairie dog populations and the black-footed ferret. Oldemeyer, D. Biggins, B. Miller, and R. Crete, eds. Google Preview. Boellstorff D. Owings D. Penedo M. Hersek M. Reproductive behaviour and multiple paternity of California ground squirrels. Animal Behaviour 47 : — Chace G. Wonders of prairie dogs.

Dodd, Mead, and Company, New York. Cheney D. Seyfarth R. Andelman S. Lee P. Reproductive success in vervet monkeys. Clutton-Brock, ed. Cid M. Detling J. Whicker A. Brizuela M. Vegetational responses of a mixed-grass prairie site following exclusion of prairie dogs and bison. Journal of Range Management 44 : — Cincotta R. Demography of black-tailed prairie dog populations reoccupying sites treated with rodenticide. The Great Basin Naturalist 47 : — Plant compositional changes in a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs in South Dakota.

Bjugstad, D. Uresk, and R. Hamre, eds. Clark T. The black-footed ferret. Oryx 13 : — Ecology and ethology of the white-tailed prairie dog Cynomys leucurus. Conservation biology of the black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes.

Campbell T. Socha D. Casey D. Prairie dog colony attributes and associated vertebrate species. The Great Basin Naturalist 42 : — Clutton-Brock T. Reproductive success: studies of individual variation in contrasting breeding systems. Collins A. Workman J. An economic analysis of black-tailed prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus control. Journal of Range Management 37 : — Cooke F. Rockwell R. Reproductive success in a lesser snow goose population.

Coppock D. Ellis J. Dyer M. Plant—herbivore interactions in a North American mixed-grass prairie. Effects of black-tailed prairie dogs on intraseasonal aboveground plant biomass and nutrient dynamics and plant species diversity. Oecologia 56 : 1 — 9. Plant-herbivore interactions in a North American mixed-grass prairie.

Responses of bison to modification of vegetation by prairie dogs. Oecologia 56 : 10 — Costello D. The world of the prairie dog. Lippincott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cully J. F Jr Plague, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets.

Gunnison's prairie dog growth and life-history change after a plague epizootic. Journal of Mammalogy 78 : — F Jr Barnes A.

Quan T. Maupin G. Dynamics of plague in a Gunnison's prairie dog colony complex from New Mexico. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 33 : — Desmond M. Savidge J. Factors influencing burrowing owl Speotyto cunicularia nest densities and numbers in western Nebraska. The American Midland Naturalist : — Dunford C. Social system of round-tailed ground squirrels. Animal Behaviour 25 : — Eskey C. Haas V. Plague in the western part of the United States. United States Public Health Bulletin : 1 — Festa-Bianchet M.

Boag D. Territoriality in adult female Columbian ground squirrels. Canadian Journal of Zoology 60 : — Fitzgerald J. Lechleitner R. Observations on the biology of Gunnison's prairie dog in central Colorado. The American Midland Naturalist 92 : — Garrett M. Hoogland J. Franklin W. Demographic differences between an old and a new colony of black-tailed prairie dogs Cynomys ludovicianus. The American Midland Naturalist : 51 — Halpin Z. Naturally occurring encounters between black-tailed prairie dogs Cynomys ludovicianus and snakes.

The American Midland Naturalist : 50 — Natal dispersal and the formation of new social groups in a newly established town of black-tailed prairie dogs Cynomys ludovicianus. Chepko-Sade and Z. Halpin, eds. Hanken J. Sherman P. For the last 35 years, Hoogland has studied four species of prairie dogs living in grassland ecosystems within national parks or wildlife refuges in the western U.

These species are black-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and white-tailed prairie dogs. From observations of marked individuals, Hoogland recorded the number of sexual partners and reproductive success for females of all four species. Prairie dogs are herbivorous rodents of the squirrel family, and forage aboveground from dawn until dusk.

They live in colonies of territorial, contiguous family groups that contain one or two sexually mature adult males, three or four sexually mature adult females, and one or two sexually immature yearling males.

Hoogland quantified female reproductive success by tracking the number of offspring that survived until the following spring when they were yearlings and before dispersal might have impacted the results. Other components of fitness were also considered, but Hoogland concluded that the number of yearlings was the best estimate of a female's ultimate reproductive success. Hoogland and his research assistants were able to document 2, copulations by 1, females living under natural conditions from through They found that the frequency of polyandry mating with more than one male varied significantly among the four species.

This infection is caused by a bacterium transmitted by fleas and can be very serious, able to kill over 99 percent of a colony. Despite the gravity of this plague, the U. Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded that prairie dogs are not significantly threatened because of their ability to recover their population, the high exposure needed to contract the disease and the range which the plague has spread. Black-tailed prairie dogs are an umbrella and keystone species: they play an important role in the grassland ecosystem and their towns support a number of other species.

Biologists count more than vertebrate species affected by the prairie dogs' existence. One of their important roles is turning the soil; they bring the tunnel soil up to the surface and the tunnels aerate the ground. Scientists have learned that their grass clipping stimulates new growth and can raise the quality and diversity of the forage for other grazers. At the center of their towns, however, they have been known to kill off the grass, allowing broadleaf herbs and small shrubs to move in.

Other studies show that the density of wildlife tends to be greater around prairie dog towns than in expanses of prairie with no prairie dogs.

The other species include mice, swift foxes, and raptors. Burrowing owls and prairie rattlesnakes rely on the burrows for shelter. Pronghorn deer seek out the broad leaf shrubs in the center of towns. Scientists have actually found that prairie dogs are often a symptom of overgrazing, as they do better in overgrazed areas.

Before western expansion, prairie dogs followed the bison herds and founded their towns on the lands that had been grazed to the ground. Unfortunately, sylvatic plague has the ability to kill over 99 percent of prairie dogs in a colony, which makes recovering infected populations incredibly difficult. Despite this, overall population numbers remain high.

Further population studies and inventories are needed, as is research into prairie dog genetics and habitat fragmentation between colonies. Skip to main content. Entry passes are required for all guests, including infants.

All visitors ages 2 and older are required to wear a mask in all indoor spaces at the Zoo, regardless of their vaccination status. Fully vaccinated visitors do not need to wear a mask in outdoor areas. Great Cats. Black-tailed prairie dog.