Potential Landscapes for Conservation of the Black‐Tailed Prairie Dog Ecosystem

ABSTRACT Aim To identify potential landscapes for the conservation of the black‐tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus; BTPD) ecosystem, across their historical geographical range within the United States. Location Central Grasslands of the United States. Methods We used a structured decision anal...

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Published inDiversity & distributions Vol. 31; no. 1
Main Authors Davidson, Ana D., Thiesen Brum, Fernanda, Houts, Michael, Menefee, Michael, Williamson, Matt, Sterling Krank, Lindsey, Van Pelt, Bill, Augustine, David J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.01.2025
Subjects
black‐footed ferret
black‐tailed prairie dogs
climate
climate change
conservation planning
Cynomys ludovicianus
decision support systems
ecosystems
grassland conservation
keystone species
land use
North America
politics
prairie dog ecosystem
spatial conservation prioritization
species
North America
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Summary:ABSTRACT Aim To identify potential landscapes for the conservation of the black‐tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus; BTPD) ecosystem, across their historical geographical range within the United States. Location Central Grasslands of the United States. Methods We used a structured decision analysis approach to identify landscapes with high conservation potential (HCP) for the BTPD ecosystem. Our analysis incorporated ecological, political and social factors, along with changing climate and land use to maximise long‐term conservation potential. Results The landscapes we identified with HCP (top 30% rangewide) represented 22% of the historical distribution of BTPDs and remained strongholds under projected climate change. We provide a suite of HCP area scenarios to help inform different conservation and management interests, including those that consider projected climate change and jurisdictional (state‐level) boundaries. Main Conclusions Our findings highlight the large conservation potential for BTPDs and associated species, and the maps we generated can be incorporated into other large‐scale, multispecies conservation planning efforts being developed for the Central Grasslands of North America.
Bibliography:Funding
Funding for this study was provided through a Pittman‐Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act grant administered by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Match through this grant was provided by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University, the Human Society of the United States, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and The United States Department of Agriculture‐Agricultural Research Service. Williamson was supported by The Liber Ero Foundation, the Wilburforce Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Environment Climate Change Canada and the National Science Foundation Idaho EPSCoR Program (OIA‐1757324).
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ISSN:1366-9516
1472-4642
DOI:10.1111/ddi.13945