Johnson-Nistler et al. measured the effects of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies on native range vegetation, in the mixed grass prairie of northeastern Montana. Plant biomass of colonized sites was dominated by fringed sagewort (Artemisia frigida) (42%), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) (16%), and western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) (16%). Uncolonized sites were dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis) (36%), western wheatgrass (13%), and blue grama (12%). Areas occupied by prairie dogs were characterized by a decrease in standing crop biomass, plant species richness, litter, standing crop crude protein, big sagebrush canopy cover and density, and an increase in bare ground and crude protein. Activities of prairie dogs in Montana result in a dramatic shift in vegetal composition in areas they occupy.
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