Prairie dog distribution in areas inhabited by black-footed ferrets
American Midland Naturalist
By: C. N. Hillman, R. L. Linder, and Robert Dahlgren
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Abstract
The distribution of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) towns was delineated in a 1490 km2 study area in Mellette County, South Dakota, and was examined to determine the characteristics of black-looted ferret (Mustela nigripes) habitat. Between 1964 and 1974, black-looted ferrets were observed on 14 prairie dog towns in this area. Eighty-six prairie dog towns, located throughout the study area, were not randomly distributed; towns were paired or clumped in spatial distribution. Mean distance between a town and its nearest neighbor was 2.4 km; mean distance between a ferret-occupied town and the nearest town was similar, 2.7 km. Management recommendations are to maintain at least eight towns per township, each at least 12 ha in size. Of these eight towns, two or more should exceed 40 ha.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Prairie dog distribution in areas inhabited by black-footed ferrets |
| Series title | American Midland Naturalist |
| DOI | 10.2307/2425083 |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year Published | 1979 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | University of Notre Dame |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
| Description | 3 p. |
| First page | 185 |
| Last page | 187 |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| County | Mellette County |
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