Resource availability influences global social network properties in Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni)

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Ferenc Jordán ◽  
Bálint Kovács ◽  
Jennifer L. Verdolin
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Word Index ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
Network Connectedness ◽  
Network Properties ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

Abstract Increasingly we are discovering that the interactions between individuals within social groups can be quite complex and flexible. Social network analysis offers a toolkit to describe and quantify social structure, the patterns we observe, and evaluate the social and environmental factors that shape group dynamics. Here, we used 14 Gunnison’s prairie dogs networks to evaluate how resource availability and network size influenced four global properties of the networks (centralization, clustering, average path length, small word index). Our results suggest a positive correlation between overall network cohesion and resource availability, such that networks became less centralized and cliquish as biomass/m2 availability decreased. We also discovered that network size modulates the link between social interactions and resource availability and is consistent with a more ‘decentralized’ group. This study highlights the importance of how individuals modify social cohesions and network connectedness as a way to reduce intragroup competition under different ecological conditions.

Plague in a Colony of Gunnison's Prairie Dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) Despite Three Years of Infusions of Burrows with 0.05% Deltamethrin to Kill Fleas

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Hoogland ◽  
Dean E. Biggins ◽  
Nathaniel Blackford ◽  
David A. Eads ◽  
Dustin Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

What is the best way to estimate vigilance? A comparison of two methods for Gunnison's prairie dogs, Cynomys gunnisoni

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Hirschler ◽  
Jennifer L. Gedert ◽  
Jessica Majors ◽  
Tucker Townsend ◽  
John L. Hoogland
Keyword(s):  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

Resources, not male mating strategies, are a determinant of social structure in Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni)

Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (11) ◽  
pp. 1361-1382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Territory Size ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
Male Mating Strategies ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

AbstractPrevious studies of Gunnison's prairie dogs, Cynomys gunnisoni, have reached different conclusions about the factors influencing sociality in this species. In this study I tested whether Gunnison's prairie dog social structure was resource-based or whether male mating strategies drive the organizational patterns observed. Group size, where the term group refers to individuals occupying the same territory, was predicted by territory size and density of food available. The spatial overlap of adults within territories was positively correlated with spatial patchiness of food resources. All group members participated in territory defense, although adult males engaged in significantly more intergroup aggressive interactions. There was no significant difference in adult male and female home range size. The number of female home ranges that any given male home range overlapped was not correlated with male body mass, male home range size, or territory size. Contrary to predictions of typical mammalian male mating strategies, adult females ranged significantly further than males during the mating period. Body mass of males and nonreproductive females was similar, whereas that of reproductive females was smaller. In addition, males and females did not differ in size, based on skull length and skull width. Results from this study strongly suggest that patterns of space use and social structure in Gunnison's prairie dogs are the result of individual responses to resource abundance and distribution and are not due to male mating strategies, such as resource defense or female defense polygyny.

Alarm calls of the same individual vary during a response to the same predator in Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni)

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (11) ◽  
pp. 1092-1100
Author(s):  
W.J. Loughry ◽  
M. Oeser ◽  
J.L. Hoogland
Keyword(s):  
Adult Female ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Bark Structure ◽  
Acoustic Variation ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

Many animals emit vocalizations in a repetitive series, but are all the calls within a series structurally the same? To answer this question, we recorded the barks of adult female Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni (Baird, 1855)) during 5 min experimental presentations of several terrestrial stimuli. We measured eight variables (primarily pitch and duration measures) of the first, middle, and last barks in each bout of barking produced by each of 24 females, as well as the duration of inter-bout intervals, the number of barks per bout, and the rate of barking per bout. We found that first barks were significantly longer and higher pitched than middle or last barks. Some of these differences were affected by the number of barks in a bout. Regardless of bark position, barks became longer and lower pitched in later bouts, and inter-bout intervals, number of barks per bout, and the rate of barking per bout all declined in later bouts. Our results show that bark structure can vary even within a single context and within a short period of time. Thus, variation due to call position within and across bouts of calling is a potentially important confound for studies examining other sources of acoustic variation.

scholarly journals Conflicting research on the demography, ecology, and social behavior of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni)

2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 1075-1085 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Hoogland ◽  
Jack F. Cully ◽  
Linda S. Rayor ◽  
James P. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

Effects of habitat quality on growth, age of first reproduction, and dispersal in Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni)

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 2835-2840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda S. Rayor
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Prairie Dog ◽  
Adult Weight ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
South Central ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs

Populations of the highly social Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) were studied at two sites in south central Colorado. The sites differed in availability of water, duration of the growing season, and the diversity and quantity of edible vegetation. At the lusher site, Quartz Creek, all age- and sex classes weighed significantly more than their counterparts at the more barren site, Blue Mesa. Growth rates and overwinter survival of Quartz Creek young were higher than at Blue Mesa. Two of 5 yearling females raised litters at Quartz Creek, whereas none of 15 yearling females weaned litters at Blue Mesa. Quartz Creek females produced larger litters [Formula: see text] than Blue Mesa females [Formula: see text]. At Quartz Creek, 6 of 17 yearlings dispersed from their natal harem, but none of the 31 yearlings at Blue Mesa dispersed. Thus, in a favorable habitat, Gunnison's prairie dogs were heavier, reached sexual maturity more rapidly, and dispersed at a younger age than in a less favorable habitat. These results provide intraspecific support for Armitage's hypothesis that delayed sexual maturity and dispersal in the large-bodied, social ground squirrels is associated with the age at which immatures attain adult weight.

Evidence for two subspecies of Gunnison’s prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni), and the general importance of the subspecies concept

2014 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loren C. Sackett ◽  
Amy Seglund ◽  
Robert P. Guralnick ◽  
Maxwell N. Mazzella ◽  
David M. Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prairie Dogs ◽  
Cynomys Gunnisoni ◽  
General Importance ◽  
Gunnison's Prairie Dogs
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