Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> JOINING ME IS DR. ANA DAVIDSON AND HER LITTLE FURRY
FRIEND PETUNIA. AND PETUNIA IS A PRAIRIE DOG.
WE DO KNOW THAT PRAIRIE DOGS ARE NOT NORMALLY GIVEN TO THIS
KIND OF HANDLING BY PEOPLE. THIS IS AN UNUSUAL SITUATION.
>> VERY MUCH SO. THIS LITTLE GUY IS A RESCUE
ANIMAL AND USED FOR EDUCATION, BECAUSE HE IS VERY FRIENDLY
BUT THAT IS VERY RARE. HE IS A GUNNISON DOG AND
SO, HE IS A LOCAL PRAIRIE DOG. >> WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO
RESTORE PRAIRIE DOGS TO THEIR NATIVE LAND?
>> BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE KEYSTONE SPECIES.
KEYSTONE SPECIES ARE THOSE SPECIES THAT ARE VERY
IMPORTANT IN AN ECOSYSTEM AND SO THESE GUYS ARE NATIVE TO
GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS. THEY TRANSFORM GRASSLAND
LANDSCAPES. THEY CREATE A UNIQUE HABITAT
FOR ALL KINDS OF OTHER GRASSLAND ANIMALS AND THEY
PROVIDE A REALLY IMPORTANT FOOD RESOURCE FOR ALL TYPES OF
PREDATORS. >> IF SUDDENLY THERE WEREN'T
PRAIRIE DOGS IN THE BIGGER PICTURE, THERE WOULD BE A
PROBLEM. >> A KEYSTONE SPECIES IS ONE
THAT IS ALSO IRREPLACEABLE. THEY HAVE A LARGE AND
IMPORTANT EFFECT ON AN ECOSYSTEM SO WHAT HAPPENS IS
WHEN THEY ARE LOST FROM AN ECOSYSTEM, THAT HAS A
CASCADING EFFECT. SO, WHEN PRAIRIE DOGS DECLINE
IN AN AREA, THE PREDATORS THAT ASSOCIATE WITH THEM ALSO
DECLINE. THE ANIMALS THAT ARE DEPENDENT
ON THE HABITATS THEY CREATE ALSO DECLINE.
>> ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE IS THE BLACK FOOTED FERRET.
THERE WERE 13 LEFT IN THE WILD IN THE 1980'S BECAUSE OF THE
DECLINE OF PRAIRIE DOGS. BLACK FOOTED FERRETS RELY ON
PRAIRIE DOGS FOR OVER 90% OF THEIR DIET.
AND, SO, THEY HAVE BECOME ONE OF NORTH AMERICA'S MOST
ENDANGERED MAMMALS. SO, THIS IS A REALLY
INTERESTING PART OF THE STORY, IS THAT THE FISH AND WILDLIFE
SERVICE HAS PUT IN A LARGE AMOUNT OF EFFORT AND FUNDING,
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, INTO THIS RECOVERY PROGRAM FOR THE BLACK
FOOTED FERRET, BUT YET THEY ARE RUNNING OUT OF SIGNIFICANT
ENOUGH HABITAT FOR THEM TO REESTABLISH THEIR POPULATIONS
IN BECAUSE THERE IS NOT SIGNIFICANT LARGE POPULATIONS
OF PRAIRIE DOG COLONIES LEFT. >> IT MIGHT NOT WORK.
>> WE NEED LARGE EXPANSE AREAS THAT CAN SUPPORT PREDATOR
POPULATIONS LIKE THE BLACK FOOTED FERRET AND WHEN
GOVERNMENT IS PUTTING IN ALL OF THESE RESOURCES TO RESTORE
THE FERRET POPULATION, BUT, YET, THEY ARE ALSO PUTTING IN
FUNDS TO REDUCE PRAIRIE DOG POPULATIONS, THESE TWO EFFORTS
ARE IN COMPLETE CONFLICT BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE UNIQUE
HABITAT FOR ALL KINDS OF SPECIES AND IMPORTANT PREY FOR
MANY SPECIES, THEY INCREASE OVERALL BIODIVERSITY AND ALSO,
BECAUSE OF PROVIDING UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT, THEIR COLONIES
THEY ACT LIKE ISLANDS, UNIQUE ISLANDS OF GRASSLAND HABITAT
DOTTED ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE. >> I WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT
IF SOMEBODY MENTIONED THAT THERE WERE KEYSTONE SPECIES
THAT PRAIRIE DOGS WERE AMONG THOSE.
SO, THAT IS INTERESTING TO ME BUT ALSO WHAT ARE SOME OTHER
KEYSTONE SPECIES? >> SOME EXAMPLES OF KEYSTONE
SPECIES WOULD INCLUDE PREDATORS LIKE THE WOLF, SO
PREDATORS HELP -- THROUGH THEIR TROPHIC INTERACTIONS,
THEY HELP TO MAINTAIN THE BALANCE OF THE ECOSYSTEM BY
AFFECTING THE PREY ABUNDANCE AND THE PREY'S EFFECT ON THE
REST OF THE ECOSYSTEM. IT IS THIS TOP DOWN EFFECT AND
ARE REALLY IMPORTANT IN THE ECOSYSTEMS.
THAT WAY BURROWING MAMMALS, LIKE PRAIRIE DOGS, ARE ANOTHER
KIND OF KEYSTONE SPECIES AND THAT IS BECAUSE THEY PLAY THIS
ROLE THROUGH THEIR TROPHIC EFFECT.
FOR EXAMPLE, GRAZING GRASSLAND VEGETATION, THEY MODIFY THE
NUTRIENT QUALITY OF THE GRASSLAND WHICH ATTRACTS BISON
TO THEIR COLONIES AND EVEN CATTLE TO THEIR COLONIES BY
INCREASING NUTRITION IN THE VEGETATION.
>> ARE THEY AT RISK? >> YES.
THEIR POPULATIONS HAVE DECLINED ABOUT 98% ACROSS
THEIR FORMER RANGE, SO PRAIRIE DOGS OCCUR ACROSS THE CENTRAL
GRASSLANDS OF NORTH AMERICA FROM CANADA TO MEXICO AND
THERE ARE FIVE DIFFERENT SPECIES, ALL OF WHICH ARE
THREATENED, ENDANGERED OR DECLINING AND HAVE DECLINED
SIGNIFICANTLY. >> 98%, WOW.
>> A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT PRAIRIE DOGS ARE STILL REALLY
ABUNDANT BECAUSE THEY SEE THEM ALL THE TIME.
THAT IS OFTEN BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING THEM ALONG HIGHWAY
MEDIANS IN CITIES WHERE THEY REMAIN, BUT OUT IN THE BROAD
GRASSLAND LANDSCAPES, THEY ARE LARGELY ABSENT.
AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF WIDESPREAD EXTERMINATION
PROGRAMS THAT HAVE GONE ON SINCE THE EARLY 1900'S.
THOSE EFFORTS STILL CONTINUE TODAY BUT NOT TO THE SAME
DEGREE AS THEY USED TO BE IN THE EARLY 1900'S.
THAT WAS DESIGNED TO BE MASS ERADICATION.
NOW IT IS MORE ABOUT CONTROLLING THE POPULATION.
>> YOU'RE SAYING THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY A GOOD THING.
>> NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, BECAUSE THEY PLAY THIS IMPORTANT ROLE
IN THESE ECOSYSTEMS. THEIR PRESENCE IS REALLY
ESSENTIAL, PARTICULARLY AT THE LANDSCAPE SCALE BECAUSE OF
WHAT I WAS DESCRIBING, HOW PRAIRIE DOGS PROVIDE THESE
IMPORTANT HABITATS ACROSS THAT LANDSCAPE AND PROVIDE REALLY
IMPORTANT PREY FOR MANY PREDATORS.
THEY NEED TO OCCUR IN LARGE NUMBERS ACROSS THAT LANDSCAPE
IN ORDER TO PLAY THEIR KEYSTONE ROLE.
>> WE HAVE A DIAGRAM THAT SORT OF EXPLAINS THAT, AND WHAT ARE
WE SEEING WITH THE DIAGRAM EXACTLY?
>> THE BOTTOM OF THE DIAGRAM SHOWS THE COLONIES AND HOW
THEY -- THESE LITTLE ISLANDS OF HABITAT ACROSS THE GREATER
GRASSLAND LANDSCAPE AND THEN THE MIDDLE ONE SHOWS WHAT A
COLONY IS LIKE. AND THEN THE TOP ONE SHOWS
WHAT A MOUND IS LIKE, A SOIL MOUND.
WHAT IS REALLY NEAT TO THINK ABOUT IS THAT THESE LITTLE
MOUNDS, THEY PROVIDE THEIR OWN UNIQUE HABITAT AS WELL.
SO ALL KINDS OF INVERTEBRATES, SO DIFFERENT KINDS OF BUGS
WILL ASSOCIATE WITH THOSE MOUNDS.
SO ESSENTIALLY, THESE MOUNDS ACT LIKE COLONIES.
>> PRAIRIE DOGS AND BISON GOT ALONG FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
AND THEN ALONG COME CATTLE AND SHEEP MIXING UP THAT KIND OF
DELICATE BALANCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
TELL ME ABOUT THAT. >> WELL, THIS IS A REALLY
IMPORTANT POINT THAT CATTLE AND PRAIRIE DOGS ARE PERCEIVED
TO BE COMPETITORS IN GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS BUT, YET, AS YOU
SAY, BISON AND PRAIRIE DOGS CO-EXISTED FOR THOUSANDS OF
YEARS AND THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF THESE LARGE HERBIVORES,
LIKE BISON AND CATTLE WITH PRAIRIE DOGS IS SUCH THAT THEY
ACTUALLY CAN HAVE A MUTUALISTIC RELATIONSHIP.
WHAT IT IS, IS PRAIRIE DOGS BENEFIT FROM THESE LARGE
GRAZERS OPENING UP THE GRASSLAND HABITAT.
BY DOING SO, THE PRAIRIE DOGS CAN SEE PREDATORS BETTER.
SO THEIR COLONIES WILL THRIVE IN AREAS THAT ARE OPENED UP BY
THE LARGE HERBIVORES. >> I AM GETTING THIS VIEW
THERE IS A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF GOING ON OUT THERE THAT
WE JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT. >> THE MORE WE DISCOVER ABOUT
THEIR ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER ANIMALS AND THE
ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM, THE MORE WE SEE HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE.
>> IT IS JUST WILD TO THINK ABOUT A TINY LITTLE PRAIRIE
DOG AND A BISON. >> THEY CO-EVOLVED WITH ONE
ANOTHER. SO WHEN BISON HAD BEEN REMOVED
FROM MUCH OF NORTH AMERICA, THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY
CATTLE, AND SO NOW CATTLE ARE HAVING THIS SIMILAR KIND OF
ECOLOGICAL INTERACTION EXCEPT THAT CATTLE ARE CONFINED TO
FENCES. THEY ARE NOT THESE LARGE
ROAMING HERDS OF WILD ANIMALS. AND SO, THEREFORE, THERE IS
POTENTIAL CONFLICT. THEY CAN OVERGRAZE AN AREA
WHEN THE ANIMALS CO-OCCUR TOGETHER, BECAUSE THE PRAIRIE
DOGS, THEY ARE SEDENTARY ANIMALS.
THEY CREATE COLONIES. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE CATTLE
COME INTO THE COLONIES AND THEY PREFER TO GRAZE ON THEM
AND THEN THAT COMBINATION OF THESE TWO MAJOR HERBIVORES CAN
HAVE A LARGER IMPACT ON THE GRASSLANDS, PARTICULARLY WHEN
THE CATTLE CAN'T MOVE ACROSS THE GREATER LANDSCAPE.
>> WHAT A BIG DIFFERENCE WE CAN MAKE BY PUTTING UP A
FENCE. >> IT REALLY DOES COME DOWN TO
OVERSTOCKING THE GRASSLAND WITH TOO MANY DOMESTIC
LIVESTOCK, IN COMBINATION WITH CONFINING THEM WITHIN A FENCED
LANDSCAPE. >> WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU DOING
TO PRESERVE THE PRAIRIE DOG POPULATION, OR, I SHOULD SAY,
RESTORE IT. >> ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE
DOING AT SEBOYETA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUSE, FOR EXAMPLE,
LOCATED IN CENTRAL NEW MEXICO AND WHAT IS REALLY INTERESTING
IS I WENT OUT WITH THE PERSON THAT WAS LEADING THE
EXTERMINATION EFFORTS OF PRAIRIE DOGS.
WHAT SHE TOLD ME WAS THAT THEY WOULD GO OUT ON HORSEBACK WITH
THESE BURLAP SACKS FULL OF LACED GRAIN AND THEY WOULD
SPRINKLE IT ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE.
AND THE THING ABOUT THIS IS THAT SO MANY ANIMALS, FROM
INSECTS TO COYOTES, LIKE THIS GRAIN SO YOU CAN IMAGINE A
WIDESPREAD INDISCRIMINATE POISONING THAT OCCURRED
THROUGHOUT THIS REGION AND THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL
GRASSLANDS IN GENERAL, AND, FRANKLY, THEY STILL DO THIS.
SO, NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, IT IS NOT JUST POISONING
PRAIRIE DOGS OR LOSING THE PRAIRIE DOGS, IT IS LOSING THE
ECOSYSTEM AND THE SPECIES ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
>> HOW CHALLENGING MUST IT BE TO RESTORE AN ECOSYSTEM?
>> THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF THE KEYSTONE SPECIES.
IT IS EASIER TO RESTORE A SYSTEM IF YOU CAN RESTORE THE
KEY COMPONENT TO THE ECOSYSTEM.
>> AND PRAIRIE DOGS ARE A KEY COMPONENT.
>> EXACTLY, THAT IS WHAT OUR BIG EFFORT IS TO RESTORE
PRAIRIE DOGS AND MONITOR THE RESPONSE OF THE COMMUNITY TO
THE RESTORATION OF THE ANIMAL AS IT RECOLONIZES THE
LANDSCAPE. IT HAS BEEN CHALLENGING
BECAUSE WHAT WE THINK IS GOING ON WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, THE
REGION IS BECOMING HOTTER AND DRYER AND DROUGHTS ARE MORE
FREQUENT AND INTENSE AND CONSEQUENTLY IT IS CHALLENGING
FOR THE REINTRODUCTION TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE HAVE TO PUT A LOT OF EFFORT TO KEEP THESE ANIMALS -- THEIR
POPULATION GOING AND GET THEM WELL ESTABLISHED.
WE'RE MONITORING POPULATION DYNAMICS OVER TIME TO SEE HOW
SUCCESSFUL THE REINTRODUCTION CAN BE, WHAT ARE THE
CHALLENGES, WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS PROCESS TO MAKE IT
SUCCESSFUL WITHIN THIS KIND OF REGION.
>> WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GO INTO THIS LINE OF WORK?
>> I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN WILDLIFE
AND CONSERVATION. AND WHEN I WAS 18 YEARS OLD I
WAS WORKING WITH THE WILDLIFE RESCUE HERE IN NEW MEXICO AND
MY FRIENDS ALWAYS KNEW THAT I WAS VERY INTO ANIMALS AND
CONSERVATION AND I GOT THIS PHONE CALL FROM ONE OF MY GIRL
FRIENDS, SHE SAID, "OH, MY GOD, ANA, YOU HAVE TO COME
OVER HERE, WE HAVE GOT PRAIRIE DOGS BEING BULLDOZED OUTSIDE
MY APARTMENT COMPLEX." AND, YOU KNOW, SO I GO OVER TO
THIS AREA AND I LITERALLY SEE THIS PROPERTY WITH THESE BIG
BULLDOZERS SCRAPING THE LAND SURFACE AND LITERALLY PRAIRIE
DOGS RUNNING FROM THE BULLDOZERS.
IT WAS A VERY POWERFUL EXPERIENCE.
I THOUGHT, WHAT CAN I DO, OH, MY GOD.
I AM TRYING TO CALL WHATEVER RESOURCES I COULD THINK OF TO
GET PEOPLE INVOLVED AND THERE WAS A WOMAN THAT WAS INVOLVED
AND STARTED PRAIRIE DOG PALS OF ALBUQUERQUE AT THE TIME AND
SHE CAME OVER TO HELP RESCUE THE PRAIRIE DOGS.
AND THAT IS WHAT GOT ME INVOLVED AND STARTING TO DO
THEIR RELOCATIONS AND RESTORATIONS, BUT, THE OTHER
THING, I WAS AN UNDERGRADUATE IN THE BIOLOGY PROGRAM AND
STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT I WANTED TO DO
AND I STARTED EXPLORING THE ECOLOGICAL ROLE OF PRAIRIE
DOGS TRYING TO READ ABOUT THEM AND I AM LEARNING THEY ARE SO
IMPORTANT IN THESE ECOSYSTEMS. >> WHO KNEW?
>> EXACTLY, THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO
DISCOVER IS HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO THE
GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEMS, BUT, THEN I ALSO LEARNED HOW HATED
THEY ARE AS WELL. SO, WHAT I REALIZED, EXACTLY,
THEY ARE VERMIN, THEY ARE RODENTS.
THAT IS THE WAY THEY ARE THOUGHT OF, SO, WHAT I
REALIZED IS THEY ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT BUT YET AMONG
THE MOST HATED ANIMALS. AND SO I FIGURED THEY HAD ONE
OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME IN CONSERVATION.
THEY PARALLEL THE STORY OF THE WOLF, SAME THING, THEY ARE
AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THESE ECOSYSTEMS BUT ALSO
AMONG THE MOST HATED. SO THERE IS THIS HUGE
CONSERVATION CHALLENGE AND SO THAT IS WHAT GOT ME INTO
STUDYING PRAIRIE DOGS. >> A GREAT REASON, FRIEND OF
PRAIRIE DOGS. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
SHARING. >> YOU'RE WELCOME.