Soil nutrients support plants, and the animals who consume plants return these nutrients to the soil, creating a nutrient cycle. In a new study published in Ecology, scientists from the Smithsonian's ...

Black-tailed prairie dogs eat vegetation, create burrows and clear ground. Do those habits impact the spread of wildfires? Researchers from the University of Arizona are calling for more ...

In the American South west, it seems we have a love-hate relationship with the prairie dog. Environmentalists and nature-lovers view them as cute and highly social animals that are also an important ...

When I headed to Montana to visit the American Prairie, I had bison on my mind. They are the quintessential plains animal and North America's largest land mammal. But what I didn't expect was for a ...

If you liked this story, share it with other people. Researchers have deployed a new tracker that helps them monitor prairie dogs and track their movements underground. The tracker uses sensors, ...

Wild black-tailed prairie dogs use alarm calls to warn one another of predators, and some grassland birds are listening in. Photo credit: Andrew Dreelin, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation ...

Why did the ornithologist strap a taxidermy badger to a remote controlled car and drive it around the prairie? To interrogate the secret world of animal eavesdropping in the grasslands, of course!

When I headed to Montana to visit the American Prairie, I had bison on my mind. They are the quintessential plains animal and North America’s largest land mammal. But what I didn’t expect was for a ...

It’s that time of year again. It’s almost time to start feeding the Gunnison’s prairie dogs in Santa Fe. Between October and April, you may not see the Gunnison’s prairie dogs, but they are quietly ...

In the battle to manage wildfires, experts often turn to advanced technologies and evolving techniques for help, but could the next breakthrough in fire management be found right under their feet? If ...