THE 2018 FIELD SEASON is officially underway! We'd like to extend a huge welcome to our new Squaddies this year: Brittany, Kate, and Colleen. They bring good humor and a passion for wildlife with them, and are looking forward to what the season has to offer.

Close to 30 marked prairie dogs have already emerged from their winter sleep at our research site at the Valles Caldera National Preserve, with many more expected. Spring arousals typically begin with males first, and that has held true this year. So far the females are sleeping in, and the males are eagerly waiting for them to start showing up and get the mating season underway!

More soon!

WINTER IS NEARLY OVER, and the Gunnison's prairie dogs are finally coming up from hibernation here in northern New Mexico. The photo above was taken just yesterday, and is our first study subject to come aboveground at our site at the Valles Caldera National Preserve. John and the 2018 Prairie Dog Squad will be arriving on site next week to start a new season of research. Expect frequent blog updates from now on as we fill you in on how the spring is going out there, so stay tuned!

FIELD ASSISTANTS WANTED! If you're interested in joining our squad of prairie dog researchers, new volunteer internship positions for our 2018 field season are now open! We encourage students and new professionals to apply. This may be one of John Hoogland's final field seasons out there, so if you want an opportunity to work with the world's expert on prairie dog behavior hands-on, this is your chance! John typically hires 3 or 4 field assistants every year, and your final date to apply is January 20, 2018. To view the position details on the Texas A&M Job Board, follow the link below:

BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF PRAIRIE DOGS: THE MATING SYSTEM - New Mexico

John has trained over 200 field assistants in prairie dog research over four decades, many of whom went on to graduate degrees and successful careers in wildlife. He asks for passion and dedication, and will return your effort with a wealth of knowledge, experience, and support. This is an amazing opportunity to get a taste of immersive field work and learn from a robust methodology and history.

Everything you might possibly want to know about our research can be found within the pages of this site; specifically, you can read more about John and the Prairie Dog Squad on THE RESEARCH TEAM page, and more about a day in the life out in the field at PURPOSE & METHODS. And check out the excellent video below by former squaddie Marlin Dart.

To apply for the 2018 Prairie Dog Squad or inquire further, please contact John at (301) 689-7130 or John.Hoogland@umces.edu.

©Marlin Dart 2017

CONTENT UPDATE! More peer-reviewed articles have been uploaded to the PUBLICATIONS page. As always, if you are looking for a paper authored or co-authored by John Hoogland that we haven't yet uploaded to the site, you can request it through our CONTACT page. Enjoy!

Why do Gunnison's prairie dogs give anti-predator calls?

Demographic differences between an old and a new colony of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus).

Variance in male and female reproductive success in a harem-polygynous mammal, the black-tailed prairie dog (Sciuridae: Cynomys ludovicianus).

Analysis of the mating system in the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) by likelihood of paternity.

The evolution of coloniality in white-tailed and black-tailed prairie dogs (Sciuridae: Cynomys leucurus and C. ludovicianus).

Aggression, ectoparasitism, and other possible costs of prairie dog (Sciuridae, Cynomys spp.) coloniality.

BULLETIN! Mariana recently had the opportunity to talk to the folks over at Kuvio Creative for their Conseris Blog featuring scientific research around the world. Conseris is a data collection app for iOS which we're going to try out over our next field season.

Writer Kayla DiPilato did a great job summarizing our research in a short feature on the blog: Prairie Dog Study Spans 44 Years and Inspires New Generation of Researchers. Enjoy!