Abstract
Long-term (1977–90) experimental exclusion of three species of kangaroo rats from study plots in the Chihuahuan Desert resulted in significant increases in abundance of a tall annual grass (Aristida adscensionis) and a perennial bunch grass (Eragrostis lehmanniana). This change in the vegetative cover affected use of these plots by several other rodent species and by foraging birds. The mechanism producing this change probably involves a combination of decreased soil disturbance and reduced predation on large-sized seeds when kangaroo rats are absent. Species diversity of summer annual dicots was greater on plots where kangaroo rats were present, as predicted by keystone predator models. However, it is not clear whether this was caused directly by activities of the kangaroo rats or indirectly as a consequence of the increase in grass cover. No experimental effect on species diversity of winter annual dicots was detected. Our study site was located in a natural transition between desert scrub and grassland, where abiotic conditions and the effects of organisms may be particularly influential in determining the structure and composition of vegetation. Under these conditions kangaroo rats have a dramatic effect on plant cover and species composition.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brown DE (1982) Biotic communities of the American Southwest-United States and Mexico. Desert Plants 4: 1–342
Brown JH, Heske EJ (1990) Control of a desert-grassland transition by a keystone rodent guild. Science 250: 1705–1707
Brown JH, Munger JC (1985) Experimental manipulation of a desert rodent community: food addition and species removal. Ecology 66: 1545–1563
Brown JH, Davidson DW, Munger JC, Inouye RS (1986) Experimental community ecology: the desert granivore system. In: Diamond J, Case TJ (eds) Community ecology. Harper and Row, New York, pp 41–61
Carpenter SR, Kitchell JF (1988) Consumer control of lake productivity. BioScience 38: 764–769
Carpenter SR, Kitchell JF, Hodgson JR (1985) Cascading trophic interactions and lake productivity. BioScience 35: 634–639
Castilla JC, Duran LR (1985) Human exclusion from the rocky intertidal zone of central Chile: the effects on Concholepus concholepus (Gastropoda). Oikos 45: 391–399
Caswell H (1978) Predator-mediated coexistence: a nonequilibrium model. Am Nat 112: 127–154
Connell JH (1978) Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science 199: 1302–1310
Davidson DW, Samson DA, Inouye RS (1985) Granivory in the Chihuahuan Desert: interactions within and between trophic levels. Ecology 66: 486–502
Dayton PK (1984) Processes structuring some marine communities: are they general? In: Abele LG, Simberloff DS, Strong DR, Thistle A (eds) Ecological communities: conceptual issues and the evidence. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton pp. 181–197
Estes JA, Palmisano JF (1974) Sea otters: their role in structuring nearshore communities. Science 185: 1058–1060
Heske EJ, Brown JH, Mistry S (in press) Long-term experimental study of a Chihuahuan Desert rodent community: 13 years of competition. Ecology
Heske EJ, Campbell M (1991) Effects of an 11-year livestock exclosure on rodent and ant numbers in the Chihuahuan Desert, southeastern Arizona. Southwest Nat 36: 89–93
Huntley N, Inouye R (1988) Pocket gophers in ecosystems: patterns and mechanisms. BioScience 38: 786–793
Hurlbert SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological experiments. Ecol Monogr 54: 187–211
Hutchinson GE (1951) Copepodology for the ornithologist. Ecology 32: 571–577
Inouye RS, Byers GS, Brown JH (1980) Effects of predation and competition on survivorship, fecundity, and community structure of desert annuals. Ecology 61: 1344–1351
Kearny IH, Peebles RH (1960) Arizona flora, 2nd edition. Univ. California Press, Berkeley
Ludwig JA, Reynolds JF (1988) Statistical ecology, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Martinsen GD, Cushman JH, Whitham TG (1990) Impact of pocket gopher disturbance on plant species diversity in a shortgrass prairie community. Oecologia 83: 132–138
Munger JC, Brown JH (1981) Competition in desert rodents: an experiment with semipermeable enclosures. Science 211: 510–512
Naiman RJ (1988) Animal influences on ecosystem dynamics. BioScience 38: 750–752
Naiman RJ, Johnston CA, Kelley JC (1988) Alteration of North American streams by beaver. BioScience 38: 753–762
Norris JJ (1950) Effect of rodents, rabbits, and cattle on two vegetation types in semidesert range land. Bull 353 Agr Exp Sta New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, Las Cruces
Paine RT (1966) Food web complexity and species diversity. Am Nat 100: 65–75
Pastor J, Naiman RJ, Dewey B, McInnes P (1988) Moose, microbes, and the boreal forest. BioScience 38: 770–777
Rice WR (1989) Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43: 223–225
Samson DA, Philippi TE, Davidson DW (1992) Granivory and competition as determinants of annual plant diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert. Oikos 65: 61–80
Stoddard LA, Smith AD (1975) Range management, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York
Swihart RK (1991) Influence of Marmota monax on vegetation in hayfields. J Mammal 72: 791–795
Thompson DB, Brown JH, Spencer WD (1991) Indirect facilitation of granivorous birds by desert rodents: experimental evidence from foraging patterns. Ecology 72: 852–863
Vance RR (1978) Predation and resource partitioning in one predator-two prey model communities. Am Nat 112: 797–813
Whickler AD, Detling JK (1988) Ecological consequences of prairie dog disturbances. BioScience 38: 778–785
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heske, E.J., Brown, J.H. & Guo, Q. Effects of kangaroo rat exclusion on vegetation structure and plant species diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert. Oecologia 95, 520–524 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317436
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317436