Data were collected in 2017 by researchers at the USGS, USDA-ARS, and University of Wyoming on the food webs of plants, prairie dogs, arthropods, and birds in the Thunder Basin National Grassland. Data were collected from 87 sites in order to parameterize a structural equation model linking prairie dog impacts to changes in vegetation, arthropods, and birds. Abiotic information such as topographic wetness index, terrain roughness, and soil characteristics were estimated at the same set of plots in order to account for abiotic variation across the landscape.

Grasshopper biomass and species-level diversity was recorded at locations on and off prairie dog colonies in the Thunder Basin National Grassland, Wyoming, USA. Data were collected in order to record the association between grasshopper communities and prairie dog colonies.

Grasshopper biomass and species-level diversity was recorded at locations on and off prairie dog colonies in the Thunder Basin National Grassland, Wyoming, USA. Data were collected in order to record the association between grasshopper communities and prairie dog colonies.

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado. The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The Breeding Bird Survey is a large-scale survey of North American birds. It is a roadside survey, primarily covering the continental United States and southern Canada, although survey routes have recently been initiated in Alaska and northern Mexico. The BBS was started in 1966, and the over 3,500 routes are surveyed in June by experienced birders. Routes 305, Nunn and 901, Rockport are located in the area of the SGS research site. The primary objective of the BBS has been the estimation of population change for songbirds. However, the data have many potential uses, and investigators have used the data to address a variety of research and management objectives. In the USGS-BBS Home Page, results from the BBS are summarized and pictures of birds and other species are information. Data from 1966 - 2002 were managed by the SGS-LTER project. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/82150.,,

This dataset includes three datasets collected in 2021 and 2022 to assess the potential effects of bison (Bison bison) herbivory and climate on grassland functional properties throughout semi-arid meadows in Grand Canyon National Park and Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona. Bison herbivory offtake (utilization) and aboveground herbaceous production are demonstrated in the production offtake dataset titled 'BisonHerbivory_ANPP_Ot.csv'. This dataset includes the experimental treatment variables (Stratum and Treatment) and estimates for seasonal offtake, total annual offtake, total aboveground net primary production, and grazing intensity. Data on herbaceous nitrogen yield provides calculations of percent nitrogen and nitrogen yield for graminoid and forb samples collected from biomass clippings in areas of bison grazing (file titled 'BisonHerbivory_N_Yield.csv'). Meteorological data are presented for seasonal and total annual climate variables including precipitation (measured in mm) and temperature (measured in Growing Degree Days). Climate data is within the file titled 'BisonHerbivory_Climate.csv".

This dataset includes three datasets collected in 2021 and 2022 to assess the potential effects of bison (Bison bison) herbivory and climate on grassland functional properties throughout semi-arid meadows in Grand Canyon National Park and Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona. Bison herbivory offtake (utilization) and aboveground herbaceous production are demonstrated in the production offtake dataset titled 'BisonHerbivory_ANPP_Ot.csv'. This dataset includes the experimental treatment variables (Stratum and Treatment) and estimates for seasonal offtake, total annual offtake, total aboveground net primary production, and grazing intensity. Data on herbaceous nitrogen yield provides calculations of percent nitrogen and nitrogen yield for graminoid and forb samples collected from biomass clippings in areas of bison grazing (file titled 'BisonHerbivory_N_Yield.csv'). Meteorological data are presented for seasonal and total annual climate variables including precipitation (measured in mm) and temperature (measured in Growing Degree Days). Climate data is within the file titled 'BisonHerbivory_Climate.csv".

Our study was conducted in 2005 on 3 colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs on lands in Phillips County, Montana administered by the Bureau of Land Management and in 2009 on a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs on Buffalo Gap National Grassland, Pennington County, South Dakota managed by U.S. Forest Service. We live-trapped black-tailed prairie dogs in daylight with wire mesh traps and marked their ears with numbered tags for individual identification. We weighed each individual to the nearest gram and collected Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates of their trapping locations over time. In Montana, trapping began on 15 June 2005 and ended on 1 October 2005. In South Dakota, trapping was conducted during 7 June through 7 October 2009. In both states, trapping was split into two sessions, early summer (June-July) and late summer (August-early October). An individual prairie dog was classified as encountered for the early summer session if it was detected at any time during that session and reencountered if it was detected one or more times during the late summer session. For each site, we calculated the center of activity for individual prairie dog capture locations as the mean of X-coordinates and the mean of Y-coordinates. We located adult black-footed ferrets and adult American badgers via spotlighting on nearly consecutive nights each field season. Ferrets of known age and sex were individually identifiable via passive integrated transponders. In South Dakota, but not Montana, locations of adult American badgers were recorded; adult badgers of unknown sex were not individually identifiable. We transformed prairie dog body mass (from initial capture in each state) into a binomial, categorizing prairie dogs of ≥ 600 grams at first capture as large and those of < 600 grams as small. We calculated the Euclidean distance separating each prairie dog center of activity from the closest location for any adult female ferret, any adult male ferret, and any badger. Given more intense monitoring in South Dakota for prairie dogs and ferrets alike, we were able to define individual prairie dogs as spatially "near" ferrets or badgers if their center of activity was ≤ 20 meters from the nearest adult female, male ferret, or badger spotlight locations. Data collection in Montana was less intense and the prairie dogs and ferrets were more spatially dispersed; thus, we extended the definition of “near” to ≤ 50 meters for Montana. Prairie dogs with activity centers beyond these distance cutoffs were classified as "far" from the nearest adult female, male ferret, or badger. The first dataset (Prey Selection Data.csv) includes variables for state, prairie dog reencounter from early to late summer, prairie dog body size, distance to adult female ferret, distance to adult male ferret, and distance to badger. The second dataset (Juvenile Prairie Dog Mass South Dakota Data.csv) includes data on juvenile prairie dog body mass in South Dakota, and includes variables for date of capture, state, prairie dog age, and the juvenile prairie dog's body mass in grams at capture. Only the mass measurements for juveniles in South Dakota were analyzed in the Larger Work manuscript cited herein. Funding for this study was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center internally and through the collaborative USGS/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Survival Program.

Our study was conducted in 2005 on 3 colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs on lands in Phillips County, Montana administered by the Bureau of Land Management and in 2009 on a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs on Buffalo Gap National Grassland, Pennington County, South Dakota managed by U.S. Forest Service. We live-trapped black-tailed prairie dogs in daylight with wire mesh traps and marked their ears with numbered tags for individual identification. We weighed each individual to the nearest gram and collected Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates of their trapping locations over time. In Montana, trapping began on 15 June 2005 and ended on 1 October 2005. In South Dakota, trapping was conducted during 7 June through 7 October 2009. In both states, trapping was split into two sessions, early summer (June-July) and late summer (August-early October). An individual prairie dog was classified as encountered for the early summer session if it was detected at any time during that session and reencountered if it was detected one or more times during the late summer session. For each site, we calculated the center of activity for individual prairie dog capture locations as the mean of X-coordinates and the mean of Y-coordinates. We located adult black-footed ferrets and adult American badgers via spotlighting on nearly consecutive nights each field season. Ferrets of known age and sex were individually identifiable via passive integrated transponders. In South Dakota, but not Montana, locations of adult American badgers were recorded; adult badgers of unknown sex were not individually identifiable. We transformed prairie dog body mass (from initial capture in each state) into a binomial, categorizing prairie dogs of ≥ 600 grams at first capture as large and those of < 600 grams as small. We calculated the Euclidean distance separating each prairie dog center of activity from the closest location for any adult female ferret, any adult male ferret, and any badger. Given more intense monitoring in South Dakota for prairie dogs and ferrets alike, we were able to define individual prairie dogs as spatially "near" ferrets or badgers if their center of activity was ≤ 20 meters from the nearest adult female, male ferret, or badger spotlight locations. Data collection in Montana was less intense and the prairie dogs and ferrets were more spatially dispersed; thus, we extended the definition of “near” to ≤ 50 meters for Montana. Prairie dogs with activity centers beyond these distance cutoffs were classified as "far" from the nearest adult female, male ferret, or badger. The first dataset (Prey Selection Data.csv) includes variables for state, prairie dog reencounter from early to late summer, prairie dog body size, distance to adult female ferret, distance to adult male ferret, and distance to badger. The second dataset (Juvenile Prairie Dog Mass South Dakota Data.csv) includes data on juvenile prairie dog body mass in South Dakota, and includes variables for date of capture, state, prairie dog age, and the juvenile prairie dog's body mass in grams at capture. Only the mass measurements for juveniles in South Dakota were analyzed in the Larger Work manuscript cited herein. Funding for this study was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center internally and through the collaborative USGS/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Survival Program.

This dataset is North American Breeding Bird Survey bird-count data for the routes and stops in North Dakota, USA, in which ten mixed-grass-prairie-endemic species occurred, as well as the mean habitat-quality ranking scores derived from applying the Habitat Quality Module of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) to spatial layers for landuse/landcover from the National Agricultural Statistics Survey, CRP from USDA, urban and road areas from US Census Bureau (Tiger/Line), and energy development from USGS. The bird-count data is the total sum of counts for the focal ten species; individual species counts are not part of the dataset.

This dataset is North American Breeding Bird Survey bird-count data for the routes and stops in North Dakota, USA, in which ten mixed-grass-prairie-endemic species occurred, as well as the mean habitat-quality ranking scores derived from applying the Habitat Quality Module of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) to spatial layers for landuse/landcover from the National Agricultural Statistics Survey, CRP from USDA, urban and road areas from US Census Bureau (Tiger/Line), and energy development from USGS. The bird-count data is the total sum of counts for the focal ten species; individual species counts are not part of the dataset.