NORTHERN PRAIRIE WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTER
USGS - BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES DIVISION
The Arkansas Field Station of the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is located on the campus of University of Arkansas, within the Department of Biological Sciences. This station focuses on ecological research on grasslands within the south-central Great Plains region.
More than 90% of tallgrass prairie in the midwest and Great Plains has been lost, and remaining prairies are typically fragmented. Large areas of mixed-grass prairie remain but are used as rangelands. Alterations of the Great Plains grassland landscape were precipitated by the conversion of prairie to cropland and pasture, the removal or disappearance of native ungulates, drainage of wetlands, and an increase in woody vegetation through plantings and fire suppression. Changes in landuse have continued in recent years, with higher proportions of croplands, and decreases in hayfields, wetlands, and native grasslands. These patterns of grassland loss and fragmentation have resulted in changes in the abundance and distribution of grassland-associated vertebrates. Over the past 25 years, USGS Breeding Bird Survey data indicate that almost 70% of the 29 grassland bird species adequately surveyed showed evidence of declining populations. In 1997, the National Park Service (NPS) identified grassland birds as a high- priority research need within the Central Region of the national park system. The Arkansas Field Station is currently addressing this research need with ongoing work in nine National Parks.
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
last modified 9/08/00