Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1007/s00442-015-3304-8 |
Cacti supply limited nutrients to a desert rodent community | |
Orr, Teri J.1,2; Newsome, Seth D.3; Wolf, Blair O.3 | |
通讯作者 | Orr, Teri J. |
来源期刊 | OECOLOGIA
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ISSN | 0029-8549 |
EISSN | 1432-1939 |
出版年 | 2015 |
卷号 | 178期号:4页码:1045-1062 |
英文摘要 | In the Sonoran Desert, cacti represent a potentially important source of nutrients and water for consumers. Columnar cacti, in particular, produce a large pulse of flowers and succulent fruit during hot summer months. The importance of cactus stems, flowers and fruit to the small mammal community has not been quantified. We exploited natural variation in the carbon isotope (delta C-13) values of cacti (CAM) versus C-3 plants to quantify the relative use of these resources by a diverse desert small mammal community. We also estimated trophic level by measuring nitrogen isotope (delta N-15) values. We hypothesized that (H-1) granivorous heteromyids (kangaroo rats, pocket mice) would exploit the summer pulse of seeds and pulp; (H-2) folivorous and omnivorous cactus mice, wood rats, and ground squirrels would exploit cacti stems year-round and seeds when available; and (H-3) kangaroo rats and pocket mice would shift from seeds to insects during hot dry months. We found that heteromyids made minimal use of seeds during the period of heavy seed rain. Of the cricetids, only the folivore Neotoma albigula made continuous but highly variable use of cacti resources (annual mean = 32 %, range 0-81 %), whereas the omnivore Peromyscus eremicus ignored cacti except during the summer, when it exploited seeds and/or fruit pulp (June-July mean = 39 %, range 20-64 %). We also found little evidence for a shift to greater consumption of insects by heteromyids during the hot dry months. Overall, use of cactus resources by the small mammal community is very limited and highly variable among species. |
英文关键词 | delta C-13 delta N-15 Sonoran Desert Stable isotopes Trophic level |
类型 | Article |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | USA |
收录类别 | SCI-E |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000358089400007 |
WOS关键词 | STABLE-ISOTOPES ; SAGUARO FRUIT ; DIET ; NITROGEN ; CARBON ; DELTA-N-15 ; WATER ; PHYSIOLOGY ; NEOTOMA ; HABITAT |
WOS类目 | Ecology |
WOS研究方向 | Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
资源类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/189411 |
作者单位 | 1.Univ Massachusetts, Dept Biol, Amherst, MA 01003 USA; 2.Univ Massachusetts, Dept Psychol, Amherst, MA 01003 USA; 3.Univ New Mexico, Dept Biol, Albuquerque, NM 87131 USA |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Orr, Teri J.,Newsome, Seth D.,Wolf, Blair O.. Cacti supply limited nutrients to a desert rodent community[J],2015,178(4):1045-1062. |
APA | Orr, Teri J.,Newsome, Seth D.,&Wolf, Blair O..(2015).Cacti supply limited nutrients to a desert rodent community.OECOLOGIA,178(4),1045-1062. |
MLA | Orr, Teri J.,et al."Cacti supply limited nutrients to a desert rodent community".OECOLOGIA 178.4(2015):1045-1062. |
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