Trophic Ecology Warrants. Multispecies Management in a Grassland Setting: Proposed Species Interactions on Black-tailed Prairie Dog Colonies

摘要

North American temperate grasslands support high levels of species richness and diversity1-3 and are an important resource for agricultural production, so research and appropriate management for these rangeland systems must focus on the interactions between species rather than on single-species populations. Because species-interaction paradigms are crucial for management in these systems, we present a theoretical framework to address a broad issue, which is cascading trophic interactions play a critical role in structuring populations of concern in grasslands. As a case study, we examine the hypothesis that co-occurring swift fox (Vulpes velox), western burrowing owl {Athene cunicularia hypugaed), and mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) are involved in a cascading trophic interaction on black-tailed prairie dog {Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies on North American temperate grasslands. Trophic cascades among these species remain undocumented and are worthy of investigation for effective multispeciesmanagement in these communities of conservation concern. We begin by introducing North American temperate grasslands and follow with short species accounts for prairie dogs, foxes, owls, and plovers. We then briefly define trophic interactions, followedby a case study on the Pawnee National Grassland (PNG) in Colorado and Thunder Basin National Grassland (TBNG) in Wyoming. Finally, we hypothesize potentially influencing mechanisms in a fox-owl-plover interaction. We fully acknowledge that inferences based on the trend data and literature cited in this paper are anecdotal and statistically insufficient and maintain that future investigation into this system is needed. Collectively, this paper serves as a proposal for future trophic-level research in this interactive community.