Krueger looked at the foraging relationships and potential competition between bison, prairie dogs and pronghorn in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Specifically, he studied the relationships of bison and prairie dogs, on the edge of colonies, and also of pronghorn and prairie dogs, in the center of a prairie dog town. On the edge of prairie dog towns, dietary consumption of bison and prairie dogs was dominated by graminoid species, due to the lack of prairie dog burrows, exhibiting a neutral relationship. In the town centers, pronghorn had a similar dietary preference with prairie dogs of forb and shrub species, but were slightly displaced by prairie dog foraging. Krueger stated that competition seen between pronghorn and prairie dogs was likely due to a below average precipitation year in 1983. Overall, competitive interaction was minimal within the study area, showing that these species share the same resources without really excluding each other from their niches.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.