Risk of predation and the structure of desert rodent communities.

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372 Scopus citations

Abstract

Foraging behavior is responsive to changes in predation risk; increased illumination reduces foraging in open areas without cover. Foraging behavior is also affected by resource enrichments. Differences among species in habitat selection are correlated with specific abilities to detect and avoid predators. The least vulnerable species, Dipodomys deserti, foraged heavily in the open and was largely unaffected by treatments; the other species of kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice (D. merriami, D. microps, and Microdipodops pallidus) also prefer the open, but responded to both risk and resource manipulations; highly vulnerable Peromyscus maniculatus was restricted to bushes, even under the best of circumstances; Perognathus longimembris was displaced from preferred microhabitats by the presence of kangaroo rats. Predation risk provides an axis along which habitat segregation occurs. -from Author

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)689-701
Number of pages13
JournalEcology
Volume65
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1984
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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