Date of Award:

5-2026

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Wildland Resources

Committee Chair(s)

S. Nicki Frey

Committee

S. Nicki Frey

Committee

Mark Chynoweth

Committee

Kari Veblen

Abstract

The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens) is a threatened species found in southwestern Utah. Utah prairie dogs are small, burrowing squirrels that live in family groups called coteries. Translocation, the intentional capture, movement, and release of animals from one location to another, has been widely used to aid in their recovery; however, post-translocation survival remains low. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of translocating Utah prairie dogs as intact coteries on post-translocation survival.

This study was conducted within the West Desert Recovery Unit in Iron and Beaver Counties, Utah, during July–October 2023 and 2024. Utah prairie dogs were translocated to five study areas, with one site in each area receiving individuals translocated as intact coteries and one site receiving individuals translocated without maintaining coterie structure. A natural, resident (i.e., non-translocated) colony was monitored for comparison.

I used VHF radiotelemetry to monitor locations and mortality of 161 radiocollared Utah prairie dogs across five translocation areas and one resident control colony. Survival was highest in the resident control colony (50.0%), intermediate at coterie translocation sites (18.2%), and lowest at non-coterie sites (6.9%). Survival was significantly lower for translocated individuals; however, translocating intact coteries increased survival relative to fragmented translocations. Local habitat conditions play a key role in determining translocation success based on statistical output. These results suggest that maintaining social structure during translocation may improve survival outcomes and should be considered in future Utah prairie dog recovery and management efforts.

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