Summary
Social organization of the Gunnison's prairie dog, Cynomys gunnisoni, was studied in two populations in south-central Colorado. Gunnison's prairie dogs live in complex, interactive societies fitting current definitions of highly social ground squirrels. Members of harems (‘coteries’) cooperatively use and defend a common territory. Spatial overlap is extensive between the adult male(s) and adult females, and among adult females within the harem through the active season. Amicable behavioral interactions are frequent within the harem, whereas interactions between members of different harems are primarily agonistic and spatial overlap is minimal. Although their behavioral repertoire is more limited, social organization of the Gunnison's prairie dog most closely resembles that of the black-tailed prairie dog, C. ludovicianus. Although body size, age of first reproduction, and age of emigration differed between the two study populations (Rayor 1985a), a comparison of social traits did not reveal substantial differences.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Altmann J (1974) Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behavior 49:227–267
Altmann S, Altmann J (1977) On the analysis of rates of behavior. Anim Behav 25:364–372
Armitage KB (1974) Male behavior and territoriality in the yellow-bellied marmot. J Zool 197:233–265
Armitage KB (1981) Sociality as a life-history tactic of ground squirrels. Oecologia (Berl) 48:36–49
Armitage KB (1986) Marmot polygyny revisited: Determinants of male and female reproductive strategies. In: Rubenstein DS, Wrangham RW (eds) Ecological aspects of social evolution. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 303–331
Armitage KB (1987) Resources and social organization of ground-dwelling squirrels. In: Slobodchikoff CN, Waser PW (eds) Ecology of social behavior. Academic Press, New York (in press)
Bakko EB, Nahorniak J (1986) Torpor patterns in captive white-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys leucurus). J Mammal 67:576–578
Bekoff M, Diamond J, Mitton JB (1981) Life-history patterns and sociality in canids: body size, reproduction, and behavior. Oecologia (Berl) 50:386–390
Bronson MT (1979) Altitudinal variation in the life history of the golden mantled ground squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis). Ecology 60:272–279
Caswell H (1983) Phenotypic plasticity in life-history traits: demographic effects and evolutionary consequences. Am Zool 23:35–46
Clark TW (1977) Ecology and ethology of the white-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys leucurus). Publ Biol Geol, Milwaukee Public Museum 3:1–97
Cole LC (1954) The population consequences of life history phenomena, Q Rev Biol 29:103–137
Dobson FS, Kjelgaard JD (1985) The influence of food resources on life history in Columbian ground squirrels. Can J Zool 63:2105–2109
Dobson FS, Murie JO (1987) Interpretation of intraspecific life history patterns: Evidence from Columbian ground squirrels. Am Nat 129:383–397
Festa-Bianchet M (1981) Reproduction in yearling female Columbian ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus). Can J Zool 59:1032–1035
Fitzgerald JP, Lechleitner RR (1974) Observations on the biology of Gunnison's prairic dog in central Colorado. Am Midl Nat 92:146–163
Frase BA, Armitage KB (1984) Foraging patterns of yellowbellied marmots: role of kinship and individual variability. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 16:1–10
Garrett MG, Hoogland JL, Franklin WL (1982) Demographic differences between an old and a new colony of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). Am Midl Nat 108:51–59
Hoogland JL (1979) Aggression, ectoparasitism and other possible costs of prairie dog (Sciuridae, Cynomys spp.) coloniality. Behaviour 69:1–35
Hoogland JL (1981a) The evolution of coloniality in whitetailed and black-tailed prairie dogs (Sciuridae: Cynomys leucurus and C. ludovicianus) Ecology 62:252–272
Hoogland JL (1981b) Nepotism and cooperative breeding in the black-tailed prairic dog (Sciuridae: Cynomys ludovicianus). In: Alexander RD, Tinkle D (eds) Natural selection and social behavior. Chiron Press, New York, pp 383–310
Hoogland JL (1985) Infanticide in prairie dogs: lactating females kill offspring of close kin. Science 230:1037–1040
Hoogland JL (1986) Nepotism in prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianu) varies with competition but not with kinship. Anim Behav 34:263–270
King JA (1955) Social behavior, social organization, and population dynamics in a black-tailed prairie dog town in the Black Hills of North Dakota. Contrib Lab Vert Biol, University of Michigan 67:1–123
Koford CB (1958) Prairie dogs, whitefaces, and blue grama. Wildl Monogr 3:1–78
Michener GR (1983) Kin identification, matriarchies, and the evolution of sociality in ground-dwelling sciurids. In: Eisenberg JF, Kleiman DG (eds) advances in the study of mammalian behavior. Am Soc Mammal Spec Publ No 7, pp 528–572
Michener GR (1984) Age, sex, and species differences in the annual cycles of ground-dwelling sciurids: Implications for sociality. In: Murie JO, Michener GR (eds) Biology of ground-dwelling squirrels: Annual cycles, behavioral ecology, and sociality. University Nebraska Press, Nebraska, pp 81–107
Oosting HJ (1956) The study of plant communities, 2nd ed. Freeman, San Francisco. pp 440
Pizzimenti JJ (1975) Evolution of the prairie dog genus Cynomys. Occ Pap Mus Nat His, University of Kansas 39:1–73
Pizzimenti JJ (1976a) Genetic divergence and morphological convergence in the prairie dogs, Cynomys gunnisoni and Cynomys leucurus. I. Morphological and ecological analyses. Evolution 30:345–366
Pizzimenti JJ (1976b) Genetic divergence and morphological convergence in the prairie dogs, Cynomys gunnisoni and Cynomys leucurus. II. Genetic analysis. Evolution 30:367–379
Rayor LS (1985a) Effects of habitat quality on growth, age of first reproduction, and dispersal in Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni). Can J Zool 63: 2835–2840
Rayor LS (1985b) Dynamics of a plague outbreak in Gunnison's prairie dog. J Mammal 66:194–196
Rayor LS (1987) Social dynamics of the Gunnison's prairie dog, with a comparison of the behavior of prairie dog and Columbian and thirteen-lined ground squirrel young. PhD Thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence
Rayor LS, Brody AK, Gilbert C (1987) Hibernation in the Gunnison's prairie dog. J Mammal 68:147–150
Rubenstein DI, Wrangham RW (1980) Why is altruism towards kin so rare?. Z Tierpsychol 54:381–387
Rubenstein DI, Wrangham RW (ed) (1986) Ecological aspects of social evolution, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 551
Sampson RJ (1975) Surface II graphics system. Kansas Geol Survey, Lawrence, pp 1–240
Stearns SC (1976) Life-history tactics: A review of the ideas. Q Rev Biol 51:3–47
Stearns SC, Koella JC (1986) The evolution of phenotype plasticity in life-history traits: predictions of reaction norms for age and size at maturity. Evolution 40:893–913
Tileston JV, Lechleitner RR (1966) Some comparisons of the black-tailed and white-tailed prairie dogs in north-central Colorado. Am Midl Nat 75:292–316
Waring GH (1970) Sound communications of black-tailed, white-tailed, and Gunnison's prairie dogs. Am Midl Nat 83:167–185
Wrangham RW, Rubenstein DI (1986) Social evolution in birds and mammals. In: Rubenstein DI, Wrangham RW (eds) Ecological aspects of social evolution, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 452–470
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rayor, L.S. Social organization and space-use in Gunnison's prairie dog. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 22, 69–78 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395699
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00395699