To find a biological solution for those and other hawkweed species, Jeff Littlefield is working with a research consortium based in Idaho. He is conducting tests to see if gall wasps might help control the noxious weed that covers approximately 56,000 acres in Montana. Hawkweeds tend to form dense mats that crowd out native vegetation. The plants then send up flowering stems. Meadow hawkweeds have yellow flowers.
Orange hawkweeds have orangish-red flowers.
Littlefield's work is funded by the Montana Noxious Weed Trust Fund. Some species of hyenas are highly social but others live alone. Striped hyenas, for example, are both solitary and nocturnal, which probably explains why they haven't been well studied, said MSU ecology associate professor Scott Creel. He's using radiotelemetry to learn about the animal's social system, population densities and interactions with other carnivores, for example. Wagner has seen some of the hyenas sharing home ranges, so they may not be the loners that people thought.