Journal
PLOS ONE
Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008562
Keywords
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Categories
Funding
- J.M. Kaplan Fund
- Direccion General de Asuntos del Personal Academico - Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Teconologi-a (CONACyT)
- Whitley Fund for Nature
- Comision Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad
- Defenders of Wildlife
- Dutch Embassy in Mexico
- Nature Conservancy
- Environmental Flying Services
- Foundation for Deep Ecology
- National Black-footed Ferret Recovery Foundation
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- National Wildlife Federation
- Naturalia A. C., People's Trust for Endangered Species
- Phoenix Zoo
- Research Ranch Foundation
- U.S. Agency for International Development
- Sky Island Alliance
- British Council
- Wildlands Project
- Turner Foundation
- Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
- National Science Foundation [OISE-0653296]
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One of the most important conservation issues in ecology is the imperiled state of grassland ecosystems worldwide due to land conversion, desertification, and the loss of native populations and species. The Janos region of northwestern Mexico maintains one of the largest remaining black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colony complexes in North America and supports a high diversity of threatened and endangered species. Yet, cattle grazing, agriculture, and drought have greatly impacted the region. We evaluated the impact of human activities on the Janos grasslands, comparing changes in the vertebrate community over the last two decades. Our results reveal profound, rapid changes in the Janos grassland community, demonstrating large declines in vertebrate abundance across all taxonomic groups. We also found that the 55,000 ha prairie dog colony complex has declined by 73% since 1988. The prairie dog complex has become increasingly fragmented, and their densities have shown a precipitous decline over the years, from an average density of 25 per ha in 1988 to 2 per ha in 2004. We demonstrated that prairie dogs strongly suppressed woody plant encroachment as well as created open grassland habitat by clearing woody vegetation, and found rapid invasion of shrubland once the prairie dogs disappeared from the grasslands. Comparison of grasslands and shrublands showed markedly different species compositions, with species richness being greatest when both habitats were considered together. Our data demonstrate the rapid decline of a grassland ecosystem, and documents the dramatic loss in biodiversity over a very short time period concomitant with anthropogenic grassland degradation and the decline of a keystone species.
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