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

  • Article
  • Upper Elementary
  • 1 Classroom Period
  • Insects
  • Wildlife
  • Burrows
  • Disease
  • Fleas
  • Food Web
  • Live Trap
  • Microscope
  • Plague
  • Prairie Dog
  • Prairie Ecosystem
  • Sampling
PDF preview of Prairie Dog Days article.
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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.

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

Part Of

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

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  • The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: How does the decline of prairie dogs affect the prairie food web? Materials: Ecosystem Food Web handout (included) Pencil An extension...

    FACTivity – Prairie Dog Days

    • Activity
    • Upper Elementary
    • 1 Classroom Period
    • Wildlife
    • Food Web
    • Prairie Dog
    • Prairie Ecosystem
    • Predator
    • Prey
    The question you will answer in this FACTivity is: How does the decline of prairie dogs affect the prairie food web? Materials: Ecosystem Food Web handout (included) Pencil An extension...
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)
    • Explore Activity
    • Download FACTivity (PDF)

    Part Of

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

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Glossary

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  • aerate

    (er āt): To supply with air

  • bacteria

    (bak tir ē ǝ): (Singular: bacterium) A group of single-celled microorganisms that live in soil, water, the bodies of plants and animals, or matter obtained from living things and are important because of their chemical effects and disease-causing abilities.

  • burrow

    (bər ō): A hole in the ground made by an animal for shelter or protection.

  • cay

    (kē): A low island or reef of sand or coral.

  • coordinate

    (kō ȯrd nət): Any of a set of numbers used to locate a point on a line or surface or in space.

  • immunity

    (i myü nə tē): The power of the body to resist an infectious disease.

  • infectious

    (in fek shəs): Capable of causing infection.

  • mammal

    (ma mǝl): Any of a class of warm-blooded vertebrates that include human beings and all other animals that nourish their young with milk produced by mammary glands and have the skin usually more or less covered with hair.

  • montane

    (män tān): Of, relating to, growing or being in the zone of moist cool upland slopes below tree line.

  • nutrient

    (nü trē ǝnt): A substance or ingredient that promotes growth, provides energy, and maintains life.

  • plague

    (plāg): A serious disease that is caused by a bacterium, occurs or has occurred in several
    forms including bubonic plague, and is usually passed to human beings from infected rodents and especially rats by the bite of a flea or is passed directly from person to person.

  • prairie

    (prer ē): A large area of level or rolling grassland.

  • rodent

    (rō dǝnt): Any of an order of fairly small mammals (like mice, squirrels, or beavers) that have sharp front teeth used for gnawing.

  • species

    (spē sēz or spē shēz): A category of living things that ranks below a genus, is made up of related individuals able to produce fertile offspring, and is identified by a two-part scientific name.

  • susceptible

    (sǝ sep tǝ bǝl): (1) Having little resistance to something, like a disease or infection; (2) easily affected.

  • transmit

    (trans mit): To transfer from one person, animal, or place, to another.

  • Photo of Megan Friggens. She is kneeling in a grassy field and is holding a cage.

    Megan Friggens

    Ecologist

    My first favorite science experience was taking a 10-day field trip to Belize as part of a college tropical biology class. Belize is in Central America. This trip was my...
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  • Dr. Bob Parmenter working in the field.

    Bob Parmenter

    Biologist | Wildlife Ecologist

    “[One of] my favorite science experience[s] has been working on the Mount St. Helens volcano since its explosive eruption in 1980. In the early years after the eruption, the roads...
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  • Dr. Paulette Ford sitting with her feet propped up on a fence overlooking the ocean.

    Paulette Ford

    Ecologist

    “I like being a scientist because I love to read, write and explore. My research is really exciting to me, and I look forward to it every day. Holding small...
    View Profile
  • Photo of Kenneth Gage, standing in front of a trail sign.

    Kenneth Gage

    Medical Entomologist | Zoologist

    My favorite science experience happened while working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I was traveling to a remote village in the Andes Mountains of Peru. An outbreak...
    View Profile

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  • Education Standards
  • Educator Guide
  • Education Files
  • Project Learning Tree

Standards addressed in this Article:

Social Studies Standards

Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
  • Global Connections
  • People, Places, and Environments
  • Science, Technology, and Society

About Investi-gator

The Investi-gator is another member of the Natural Inquirer family. The Natural Inquirer, for middle school students, and the Investi-gator, for upper elementary students, present science the way scientists most often share their research with each other. That process is the written scientific paper. Each Investi-gator article presents research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. All the research in the Investi-gator is concerned with nature or with society’s relationship to nature.

  • Meet the Scientist

    An introduction to the scientist or scientists who conducted the research.

  • Thinking About Science

    A short introduction to something about the scientific process that is related to the research being presented.

  • Thinking About the Environment

    A short introduction to something about the natural environment that is related to the research being presented.

  • Introduction

    The part of the written scientific paper that introduces the scientific problem or question the scientists wants to solve or answer.

  • Method

    The part of the written scientific paper that describes how the scientists collected and analyzed their data or information.

  • Findings

    The part of the written scientific paper that describes what the scientists discovered.

  • Discussion

    The part of the written scientific paper that summarizes the research and offers any new insights.

  • Reflection Section

    These are questions placed after the Introduction, Methods, Findings, and Discussion sections. The purpose of the questions is to help students think about what they have read.

  • Glossary

    Possible new terms you will find in the article. Glossary words are printed in bold in the article.

  • FACTivity

    This is an activity that you can do in your classroom.

Education Files

Project Learning Tree

If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use Activity #26 “Dynamic Duos” or Activity #45 “Web of Life” as additional resources.

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