Standard operative temperatures of two desert rodents, Gerbillus allenbyi and Gerbillus pyramidum: The effects of morphology, microhabitat and environmental factors

Goodfriend, Wendy; Ward, David; Subach, Aziz

doi:10.1016/0306-4565(91)90038-4

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Brown et al . (1994a) suggested that, under shrubs, rodents would find not only protection against predators but also a more favourable microclimate (Goodfriend et al . 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina)

2003

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In desert areas, predation risk is one of the highest costs of foraging and is a major influence on animal behaviour. Several strategies are used by foragers for surviving and reproducing in desert areas. The foraging strategies of the small mammals of South American deserts are still poorly known. In this study, we investigated the foraging strategies of rodents of the Monte Desert in response to distance from seed sources to sheltered sites (i.e. shrubs) during two different seasons (wet and dry). We evaluated the relative rates of removal of two species of seeds (millet and sunflower) by rodents at two sites by establishing 80 seed sources, 40 in unsheltered microhabitats and 40 in sheltered microhabitats. We recorded both the number of caches and seed consumption for each source. We found that plant cover affected the foraging activity of rodents of the sand dunes in the Monte Desert because both consumption and numbers of caches constructed from sheltered seed sources were higher than those from unsheltered ones. Consumption of sunflower was higher in the wet season than it was in the dry season, when millet consumption increased. Sunflower was the preferred seed both from sheltered or unsheltered sources. We discuss the possible causes of the different foraging strategies used by rodents of the Monte Desert.

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“…Brown et al . (1994a) suggested that, under shrubs, rodents would find not only protection against predators but also a more favourable microclimate (Goodfriend et al . 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1994b; Kotler et al . 1994b), seed theft by birds and other rodents (Vander Wall 1990), or a favourable microclimate (Goodfriend et al . 1991) constitute foraging costs which are as important in the Monte Desert as in other desert areas of the world (Hughes & Ward 1993; Vásquez 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina)

2003

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“…We brought together one large and one small coexisting desert rodent from each continent, two common gerbils from the Negev Desert of Israel and a kangaroo rat and a pocket mouse from the deserts of the southwestern United States, to a common and controlled setting in the Negev Desert. The Negev Desert gerbils include the greater Egyptian gerbil [GP] ( Gerbillus pyramidum ), 40 g, and Allenby’s gerbil [GA] ( Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi ), 30 g [ 22 ]. The North American Desert rodents include Merriam’s kangaroo rat [DM] ( Dipodomys merriami ), 45 g [ 23 ], and the desert pocket mouse [CP] ( Chaetodipus penicillatus ), 22 g [ 24 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divergent behavior amid convergent evolution: A case of four desert rodents learning to respond to known and novel vipers

et al. 2018

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Desert communities world-wide are used as natural laboratories for the study of convergent evolution, yet inferences drawn from such studies are necessarily indirect. Here, we brought desert organisms together (rodents and vipers) from two deserts (Mojave and Negev). Both predators and prey in the Mojave have adaptations that give them competitive advantage compared to their middle-eastern counterparts. Heteromyid rodents of the Mojave, kangaroo rats and pocket mice, have fur-lined cheek pouches that allow them to carry larger loads of seeds under predation risk compared to gerbilline rodents of the Negev Deserts. Sidewinder rattlesnakes have heat-sensing pits, allowing them to hunt better on moonless nights when their Negev sidewinding counterpart, the Saharan horned vipers, are visually impaired. In behavioral-assays, we used giving-up density (GUD) to gauge how each species of rodent perceived risk posed by known and novel snakes. We repeated this for the same set of rodents at first encounter and again two months later following intensive “natural” exposure to both snake species. Pre-exposure, all rodents identified their evolutionarily familiar snake as a greater risk than the novel one. However, post-exposure all identified the heat-sensing sidewinder rattlesnake as a greater risk. The heteromyids were more likely to avoid encounters with, and discern the behavioral difference among, snakes than their gerbilline counterparts.

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“…Bush and open microhabitats strongly influenced the foraging behavior of the three rodent species (Results 1, 3, and 6). The lower foraging costs (as indicated by lower GUDs) of G. allenbyi and G. pyramidum in the bush microhabitat can be understood in terms of protection from owl predators (Kotler et al 1991) and a more favorable microclimate (Goodfriend et al 1991 ). In contrast to the gerbils, J. jaculus appeared to have lower foraging costs in the open than bush microhabitat.…”

Section: Bush/open Microhabitat Selectionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Foraging Theory, Patch Use, and the Structure of a Negev Desert Granivore Community

Brown¹,

Kotler²,

Mitchell³

1994

Ecology

187

180

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We tested five mechanisms of coexistence in a community of three common rodent species (two gerbils, Gerbillus allenbyi and G. pyramidum, and one jerboa, Jaculus jaculus) inhabiting sand dunes in the Negev Desert, Israel. The five mechanisms, based on foraging theory, considered various forms of habitat selection in time and space. From November 1986 until January 1988, we live—trapped to census rodent populations, counted rodent spoor in tracking plots to quantify activity, and measured the rodents' giving—up densities (GUDs: the amount of food remaining within a resource patch following exploitation by a forager) in seed trays to determine relative foraging efficiencies. The population sizes of the two gerbil species tended to fluctuate synchronously (unfortunately, we could not live—trap any jerboas). G. allenbyi biased its activity towards the stabilized sand habitat and towards the bush microhabitat. In contrast, G. pyramidum and J. jaculus biased their activity towards semistabilized sand habitats, and J. jaculus also biased its activity towards the open microhabitat. Despite divergent patterns of habitat use among species, G. allenbyi tended to be the most efficient forager and J. jaculus the least efficient forager regardless of microhabitat, sand habitat, or month. G. allenbyi's presence in the community may be assured by its higher foraging efficiency. J. jaculus's presence in the community may either result from its ability to travel greater distances and utilize rare, rich resource patches, or result from an herbivorous diet. G. pyramidum's presence with G. allenbyi in the community appears to require the less stabilized sand habitats and the ability of G. pyramidum to dominate rich patches by interference or nightly temporal partitioning.

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Standard operative temperatures of two desert rodents, Gerbillus allenbyi and Gerbillus pyramidum: The effects of morphology, microhabitat and environmental factors

Cited by 15 publications

References 31 publications

Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina)

Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina)

Divergent behavior amid convergent evolution: A case of four desert rodents learning to respond to known and novel vipers

Foraging Theory, Patch Use, and the Structure of a Negev Desert Granivore Community

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