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Conflicting research on the demography, ecology, and social behavior of Gunnison's prairie dogs ( Cynomys gunnisoni )

John L. Hoogland·Jack F. Cully·Linda S. Rayor·James P. Fitzgerald
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Abstract

Gunnison's prairie dogs ( Cynomys gunnisoni ) are rare, diurnal, colonial, burrowing, ground-dwelling squirrels. Studies of marked individuals living under natural conditions in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s showed that males are heavier than females throughout the year; that adult females living in the same territory are consistently close kin; and that females usually mate with the sexually mature male(s) living in the home territory. Research from 2007 through 2010 challenges all 3 of these findings. Here we discuss how different methods might have led to the discrepancies.

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John L. Hoogland, Jack F. Cully, Linda S. Rayor, James P. Fitzgerald. 2012-09-14. Conflicting research on the demography, ecology, and social behavior of Gunnison's prairie dogs ( Cynomys gunnisoni ). https://doi.org/10.1644/11-mamm-a-034.3

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