Grazing Intensity Influences Ground Squirrel and American Badger Habitat Use in Mixed-Grass Prairies |
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| Institution: | 1. Former Undergraduate Student, Environment and Geography Department, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada;2. Associate Professor, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada;3. Master''s Student, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada;1. Research Ecologist, US Department of Agriculture−Agricultural Research Service, Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA;2. Graduate Student, Colorado State University−Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA;3. Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska−Lincoln, Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff, NE, 69361, USA;4. Rangeland Scientist, US Department of Agriculture−Agricultural Research Service, Watershed Management Research Unit, Boise, ID, 83712, USA;5. Research Rangeland Management Specialist, US Department of Agriculture−Agricultural Research Service, Range Management Research Unit, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA;6. Assistant Professor, University of Florida, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Ona, FL, 33865, USA;7. Professor, Department of Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA;8. Postdoctoral Research Associate, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL, 33960, USA;9. Supervisory Research Rangeland Management Specialist, US Department of Agriculture−Agricultural Research Service, Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, Cheyenne, WY, 82009, USA;10. Research Animal Scientist, US Department of Agriculture−Agricultural Research Services, Range Management Research Unit, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA;11. Biometrician, Eagle Environmental, Inc., Santa Fe, NM, 87508, USA;1. Postdoctoral Scholar, Ecological Restoration Institute, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5017, USA;2. Senior Lecturer, Environmental Research Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand;3. Associate Professor, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-4115, USA;4. Professor, School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5018, USA;1. Research Ecologist, USDA-ARS, Rangeland Resources Research Unit, Cheyenne, WY 82009/Fort Collins, CO, 80526 USA;2. Research Leader and Rangeland Scientist, USDA-ARS, Rangeland Resources Research Unit, Cheyenne, WY 82009/Fort Collins, CO, 80526 USA;1. PhD Student, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA;2. Associate Professor, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2M6 |
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| Abstract: | Ground squirrel (Spermophilus spp.) and American badger (Taxidea taxus) burrowing activities are ecologically important disturbances that contribute to the heterogeneity of prairie environments. These activities also have a strong impact on habitat suitability for many other grassland species. However, effects of cattle grazing intensity on ground squirrel and American badger burrows are not well understood. From 2006 to 2012 we evaluated effects of grazing intensity and vegetation type on American badger burrow occurrence and ground squirrel burrow abundance using a manipulative grazing experiment in Grasslands National Park of Canada, Saskatchewan. The study area consisted of nine 300-ha pastures at a range of stocking rates, from very low to very high for the region. Each pasture had 10 plots (six upland and four lowland) where vegetation and burrow surveys were completed. Burrow abundance and occurrence as well as vegetation structure were assessed for 2 yr prior to the introduction of cattle to this landscape in 2008, which followed at least 15 yr without livestock, and from 2009 to 2012, following introduction of livestock. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. In upland habitats, ground squirrel burrow counts increased with increasing grazing intensity and decreasing vegetation biomass; conversely, badger burrow occurrence increased with decreased stocking rates and increasing average litter cover and vegetation biomass. Abundance and occurrence of both ground squirrel and badger burrows in lowland habitats was relatively independent of grazing intensity or vegetation. Vegetation composition had little impact on ground squirrel or badger burrows. A range of grazing intensities may contribute to maintaining diversity of burrowing mammals in prairie environments. |
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