Prairie Dogs: Ecology and Social Behavior

A comprehensive overview of the behavioral ecology of a highly social group of North American mammalsBest known for their large colonies, complex burrows, and frequent alarm calls, prairie dogs are diurnal, herbivorous rodents endemic to the grasslands of western North America.Prairie Dogs synthesizes forty-five consecutive years of John Hoogland’s pioneering field research on the ecology and social behavior of these remarkable animals, including many far-reaching discoveries published here for the first time. Hoogland investigates all four species of prairie dogs that inhabit the western United States, offering invaluable insights about cooperation and competition among social animals living under natural conditions.He examines topics ranging from alarm calls, mating, predation, and vigilance to conservation, dispersal, population dynamics, and potential avenues for future research.Hoogland presents a wealth of new findings, describing how prairie dogs give alarm calls not only for of