BOULDER (AP) Researchers from the University of Colorado and Kansas State University are looking to determine if climate change is causing prairie dogs to damage the soil.
The Daily Camera reports that the schools have a grant of $850,000 to study the impact on prairie dogs near Boulder.
The newspaper says that the three-year grant from the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation will try to determine how the rodents respond to the changing climate.
Researchers plan to test soil and plants, as well as observe prairie dog behavior. Researchers are especially interested to find out whether warmer winters prompt prairie dogs to be more active during those months, leading to increased soil erosion.
Tim Seastedt, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at CU and the principal investigator in the study, said global climate change has already caused changes in the growing season and the types of plant species that are found on urban open space. But its unclear how climate change is affecting prairie dogs.
The classical studies on prairie dogs for foraging behavior were sort of null and void under the new climate reality, Seastedt said.
For example, prairie dogs dont hibernate, but they do tend to stay underground during the winter. Seastedt said warmer temperatures and less snow cover may change that behavior.
This makes the argument that theyre going to be up there grazing for a longer period of time, Seastedt said.
He said changes in climate and plant species could present a variety of challenges that this keystone species has never faced.
If these guys (prairie dogs) change their behavior, then they virtually reconstruct the system, he said.
Heather Swanson, Boulders wildlife ecologist, said some of the changes reported in recent years include loss of topsoil and changes in plant species where prairie dogs can be found.
Hopefully this study will actually document those changes, because right now its just sort of anecdotal changes over time, she said.
Laurel Hartley, an assistant professor of biology at CU-Denver and an expert on prairie dogs, is teaming up with Seastedt on the study.
We think were going to find that in some places that the prairie dogs push the plant community in ways that we havent seen before, she said.
Boulder Councilman Ken Wilson, who studied under Seastedt at CU, said hes eager to see the groups findings.
Weve seen some impacts that are disturbing, where (prairie dogs) totally defoliate these areas. We need to understand why thats happening so that we can manage our grasslands better, Wilson said.