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Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) has lead responsibility within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for biological research in the nation’s northern and central grassland ecosystems. Prairie research is conducted from the Center’s headquarters in Jamestown, ND, and field stations in St. Paul, MN, Columbia, MO, and Fayetteville, AR. Additionally, NPWRC carries out long-term studies on wolf ecology from field stations in St. Paul and Ely, MN, and partially supports a Cooperative Park Studies Unit at the University of Minnesota that conducts social science studies for the National Park Service and other agencies.

Interior grasslands and NPWRC locations

The Center’s ultimate objective is to develop the knowledge and strategies, including public education, required to ensure survival of the native biota in the face of anthropogenic change. To this end, much of our research is directed towards understanding the impacts of agricultural practices and land use patterns, habitat loss and fragmentation, fire suppression, invasive exotic species, wetland drainage, altered hydrology, intensive grazing, agrochemicals, and modified predator complexes on native wildlife and their habitats. Other efforts are directed towards monitoring native communities and populations, including the development of quantitative monitoring protocols. The Center focuses on migratory birds, particularly waterfowl, for much of its work, but reptiles and amphibians, mammals, invertebrates, and upland and aquatic flora are also investigated in depth.

This report summarizes our progress during Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00) (October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000). Within the Research Progress section, we provide background and progress for all new projects begun in FY00. Only progress is described for ongoing studies; readers interested in details of ongoing studies are referred to the project summaries in our FY99 report, which may be accessed at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/news/highlights/fy99/index.htm. Bibliographic information is provided for 68 peer-reviewed publications, 29 non-peer-reviewed publications, 26 technical reports, and 18 peer-reviewed World Wide Web publications produced during the fiscal year.

An email contact is provided for each of the projects contained in the report. For further information about Center programs, contact NPWRC at npwrc@usgs.gov, or visit the NPWRC home page at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/.