Author : Jessica Dawn Braswell
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (78 download)
Book Synopsis The Effects of El Niño and Exotic Plant Invasion on the Two-way Interactions Between Small Mammals and Plants in a Southern California Coastal Sage Scrub Food Web by : Jessica Dawn Braswell
Download or read book The Effects of El Niño and Exotic Plant Invasion on the Two-way Interactions Between Small Mammals and Plants in a Southern California Coastal Sage Scrub Food Web written by Jessica Dawn Braswell and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small mammals are among the many taxa in the diverse southern Californian coastal sage scrub and chaparral ecosystems that are threatened by the exotic plant invasions, habitat destruction and fragmentation that have accompanied continued urbanization. Many small mammals not only rely on coastal sage scrub vegetation for shelter but also eat shrub seeds, and therefore depend upon their habitat while also having the ability to shape it. The studies presented here examine the effects of an El Niño-associated heavy rainfall event and invasion by exotic grasses on the small mammal community as well as the role of small mammals in mediating competition between native and exotic plants via selective seed predation. A 4 yr study that included the 1997-1998 El Niño (ENSO) rainfall event investigated changes in density and spatial distribution for 11 rodent species. In the period during and immediately after ENSO, 7 species increased in density and showed range expansions into previously unoccupied areas. The endangered kangaroo rat Dipodomys stephensi declined in abundance and spatial distribution during ENSO. A principle components analysis qualitatively showed changes in small mammal community composition that resulted from differences in relative abundance due to differing magnitudes of species' responses to high precipitation. Most species returned to pre-ENSO population densities and range sizes within 2 yr after El Niño. In addition to the transitory responses to the additional resources available after periods of high precipitation, small mammals also responded to longer-term, perhaps permanent, habitat changes resulting from disturbance-facilitated exotic grass invasions. At higher levels of invasion, abundance of shrub-associated small mammals declined while grass-associated species increased, and overall density of all small mammal species declined. Although no species exhibited a threshold response to invasion, invaded areas supported a depauperate mammal community largely composed of generalist species. Finally, a seed predation study found that rodents preferentially consumed seeds of exotic grasses and forbs over those of native shrubs and grasses. Total mass of seed removed and rates of seed tray visitation varied by season and small mammal density, but a preference for exotic seeds showed that small mammals might slow rates of exotic plant invasion