CRB: Biogeography and Biodiversity of Prairie Dog Towns

9622137只洛莫里诺草原犬似乎是关键物种，它们强烈地影响着群落结构，并在短草和混草草原上创造了一个充满活力的景观。草原狗的栖息地曾经覆盖了北美约1亿公顷的土地。现在，它们的数量和射程可能已经减少到不到历史水平的5%。这种关键物种的持续衰落威胁到许多依赖草原犬类聚居地的本土动植物。在俄克拉荷马州，大约有48种脊椎动物，其中许多受到威胁或濒临灭绝，似乎与草原犬类群体有关。本研究的目的是调查影响草原犬群落建立、持续性和多样性的因素。研究人员将检验这一假设，即这些群落的结构在一定程度上是确定性和物种选择性移民、灭绝和物种间相互作用的结果。这项研究还将测试基于物种的岛屿生物地理学分层模型的实用性，以解释草原犬类群体的生物多样性模式。这项研究为保护本土草原群落的生物多样性提供了一种重要的、多物种的方法，并将为其他陆地群落的保护生物学和生物地理学提供一般性的见解。

9622137 Lomolino Prairie dogs appear to be keystone species, strongly influencing community structure and creating a dynamic landscape across short grass and mixed grass prairies. Prairie dog colonies once covered some 100 million ha of North America. Now, their numbers and range may have been reduced to less than 5% of their historic levels. Continued decline of this keystone species threatens many native plants and animals that are dependent on prairie dog colonies. In Oklahoma, some 48 vertebrate species, many of which are threatened or endangered, appear to be associated with prairie dog colonies. The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors influencing establishment, persistence, and diversity of prairie dog communities. The investigators will test the hypothesis that the structure of these communities results, in part, from deterministic and species selective immigrations, extinctions and interspecific interactions. This research will also test the utility of a species-based, hierarchical model of island biogeography to explain patterns in biodiversity of prairie dog colonies. This research represents an important, multi-species approach for conserving biodiversity of native prairie communities, and will provide general insights for conservation biology and biogeography of other terrestrial communities.