Food Habits of the Banner-Tailed Kangaroo Rat in Arizona

Population Ecology of Desert Rodent Communities: Body Size and Seed‐Husking as Bases for Heteromyid Coexistence

“…Some feel the heteromyids they studied are relatively opportunistic, taking whatever is available in their environment in naturally occurring proportions, whether this entails many species of seed or only one or two (Tappe 1941;Monson 1943;Monson and Kessler 1940;Shaw 1934;Hawbecker 1944;Blair 1937). Some feel the heteromyids they studied are relatively opportunistic, taking whatever is available in their environment in naturally occurring proportions, whether this entails many species of seed or only one or two (Tappe 1941;Monson 1943;Monson and Kessler 1940;Shaw 1934;Hawbecker 1944;Blair 1937).…”

The Evolution of Food Caching by Birds and Mammals

“…The size of animals using seeds as a sole source of stored energy while staying active over a period of months is probably limited by seeds' relatively small size. The largest desert rodents that larder hoard small seeds (76,131) weigh about 150 g while in temperate and tropical fo rests squirrels (l kg) and agoutis (3 kg), which store much larger seeds (113,116), lie at the upper extreme. Corvids and woodpeckers that depend on stored seeds fo r several months also lie near the upper size limit fo r seed-eating birds.…”

“…In North American desert communities of heteromyid rodents, it is the largest species that larder hoard large quantities of seeds in their elaborate burrows (44,76,77,131). Some intermediate-sized heteromyids make hun dreds of small surface caches near their burrow entrances.…”

The Ecological Impact of Animal Nests and Burrows

“…One burrow system of Dipodomys ingens was found to contain over 35 litres of seed for an animal of about 150g (Shaw 1934). An amazing 120 litres is recorded from a single burrow of the bannertailed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis) with an average autumn peak of over 55 litres (Mason 1943). …”