Note on Mound Architecture of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
Cincotta RP. 1989. Note on Mound Architecture of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog. Great Basin Naturalist (Western North American Naturalist). 49(4):621-623
"The development of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) burrow mounds was monitored for three years. Entrances were flagged at points where a prairie dog was observed digging into the ground (primary entrances, n=22) and digging out of the ground (secondary entrances, n=8). In all samples it was observed that primary entrances became dome mounds and secondary entrances crater mounds. It is suggested that, although induced airflow (presently, a popular model) may partly explain the presence of mounds, architectural types (domes vs. crater mounds) are the result of energy constraints associated with building materials that differ at the two entrances." (from document Abstract)
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Cincotta, Richard
- Units
- BADL
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, burrow mounds, Habitat, Mammals, Monitoring, Prairie Dog, Vertebrates