Con Slobodchikoff - Research

Research

His initial research involved the behavior and ecology of tenebrionid beetles and their response to vertebrate predators. However, in the mid-1980s he switched his research efforts to studying the social behavior and communication of prairie dogs. He has been decoding the communication system of alarm calls, and he and his students have found that prairie dogs have a sophisticated communication system that can identify the species of predator and provides descriptive information about the size, shape, and color of the individual predator animal. His research in prairie dog communication has also shown displacement, the ability to communicate about things that are not present. This finding challenges prior theories on animal communication, since only humans have been known to use this linguistic process. In addition, his work with prairie dogs suggests that they may have a "complex communication system that borders on language." Not only do they have a developed communication system as described above, they also have different escape behaviors in response to different predator calls. His research with the prairie dogs also helps to explain why animals have social behavior. Because these animals form a colony, they form a set of different social groups, which apparently exist for other reasons besides mating and may be a way to take advantage of limited resources. Con also writes a Dog Behavior Blog which gives some advice on how to solve behavior issues and has several short essays about some of the research about dogs and dog behavior.

Through Slobodchikoff's research, it has been found that prairie dogs also have the ability to construct new words referring to novel objects or animals in their environment, which is called productivity. Prior to the study, only humans have been recognized with the ability of productivity within a communication system. Slobodchikoff and his research team are currently taking a look at breaking down the grammar of prairie dogs through computer technology to better understand the nature of their vocalizations in comparison to the phoneme system used by humans. Through this approach, they have been able to find how these vocalizations are put together to construct word-like structures and further constructed to form sentences.

Con Slobodchikoff has shown strong intention of preserving the habitats of prairie dogs. One specific area that has evidence of the destruction of their environment is New Mexico. An organization, Prairie Dog Pals has dedicated themselves to prevent the urban expansion that threatens the dog’s lifestyles. Prairie Dogs are seen as bothersome creatures to city employees. They are viewed as a threat to home owners and the general public by digging burrows into parks and playgrounds. Unfortunately, animal lovers are worried that their extinction will be the cause of the extinction of other creatures. Drastic measures such as poisoning, bulldozing and drowning their habitats have been implemented by the city’s urban expansion workers. This has caused a major push in Con Slobodchikoff research, because of his drive to inform society of how intelligent these remarkable creatures are, and how they can really can contribute to further research.

Slobodchikoff has examined the language, communication, and social behavior of prairie dogs for more than twenty years. He selected prairie dogs as the main focus of his research because he believes they have a high degree of social behavior and are easy to study due to their close proximity. The prairie dogs live near the university that Slobodchikoff teaches, Northern Arizona University. He has taken what he has learned from the findings of his research with prairie dogs to offer consultations about problems that pets may have with behavior and offer advice to correct those problems. He has also offered dog training classes based on what he has learned in his research.