Environmental heterogeneity and the coexistence of desert rodents

Outlines salient propoerties of the desert environment and their rodent communities. Paying particular attention to the carnivorous heteromyids of the North American deserts and the gerbilline rodents of the Middle East, the review considers optimal foraging (including diet and patch use) and the behaviour that this engenders. Several mechanisms of coexistence may operate simultaneously, eg resource partitioning; habitat selection in space, in a mosaic and in time; and using a resource whose abundance varies spatially. This can lead to a particular community organisation. The same species may occur in different communities using different mechanisms. -P.J.Jarvis