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 Article:

Prairie Dog Days: How Fleas Transmit the Plague and its Effects on Gunnison's Prairie Dog


This article is from Issue Animals and Ecosystems of the Southwestern United States Investi-gator (Rocky Mountain Research Station) - Vol. 3 No. 1.

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Plague is an infectious disease that is transmitted to other mammals by fleas. Prairie dogs are particularly susceptible to plague. The scientists in this study were interested in figuring out which flea species transmit plague within a population of prairie dogs. The scientists also wanted to know if the burrows played a part in the plague outbreaks.

Welcome Section

Photo Challenge

Crossword Puzzle

Map Activity

Education Standards Correlations

Note to Educators

Reflection Section Answer Guide

 

 

Additional Resources for this Article:
Meet the scientists that contributed to this article:

"Science Topics" covered in this article:
  • Earth Science

"Environmental Topics" covered in this article:
  • Wildlife and Endangered Species (Educators)

Regions covered in this article:
  • Southwestern

Specific "Thinking About Science" Themes:
  • The Scientific Process

Specific "Thinking About the Environment" Themes:
  • Habitat

Forest Service Stations covered in this article:
  • Rocky Mountain Research Station

NSE Standards covered in this article:
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry (A)
  • Nature of science (G)
  • Populations and ecosystems (C)
  • Regulation and behavior (C)
  • Risks and benefits (F)
  • Science as a human endeavor (G)
  • Structure and function in living systems (C)
  • Structure of the earth system (D)
  • Understandings about science and technology (E)
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry (A)