Density changes and habitat affinities of rodents of shadscale and sagebrush associations

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Authors:

Source:

Great Basin Naturalist, Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Volume 33, Issue 4, p.255-264 (1973)

Call Number:

A73LAR01IDUS

URL:

https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/wnan/article/view/29804

Keywords:

chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, Deer Mouse, Dipodomys ordii, Eutamias minimus, Great Basin pocket mouse, Least Chipmunk, Neotamium minimus, Ord’s kanagaroo rat, Perognathus parvus, Peromyscus maniculatus, Reithrodomys megalotis, Reithrodontomys megalotis, western harvest mouse

Abstract:

Rodent trapping was conducted in representative northern Great Basin habitat types for six consecutive years to determine the magnitude of density change, the specific habitat affinities, and the effects of habitat alteration on rodent density. Although species responded differently, total rodent density was greater in depleted shadscale and sagebrush communities than in comparable pristine sites. However, disturbed sites with nearly pure stands of weedy introduced annuals supported few rodents. Several species exhibited abrupt and concurrent yearly changes in density. The factors causing these changes were not identified. Until this information is available, we can develop only crude models to predict the direction and magnitude of population change.