| black-tailed prairie dogs and the structure of avian communities on the shortgrass plains. | we tested the hypothesis that black-tailed prairie dogs (cynomys ludovicianus) influence avian community structure on the shortgrass prairie. we surveyed 36 prairie dog towns and 36 paired sites without prairie dogs during summer and fall of 1997, 1998, and 1999 in the oklahoma panhandle. our surveys totaled 9,040 individual observations for 73 avian species. significantly distinct avian communities were present on prairie dog towns when compared to sites within four different macrohabitats of t ... | 2004 | 14685848 |