TY - JOUR T1 - Species richness- productivity relationship for small mammals along a desert-grassland continuum: differential responses of functional groups JF - Journal of Mammalogy Y1 - 2006 A1 - Reed, A.W. A1 - Kaufman, G.A. A1 - D.W. Kaufman KW - desert KW - functional group KW - Grasslands KW - Primary productivity KW - Resource heterogeneity KW - small mammals KW - Species richness AB - We used published data to calculate small-mammal species richness at 43 sites in North America to examine the response of species richness to increasing primary productivity. We estimated species richness for the entire community and for each of 4 functional groups (insectivore, granivore, herbivore, and omnivore). Total richness exhibited a significant unimodal relationship to increasing amounts of annual precipitation and was driven by granivores; this functional group exhibited the most pronounced decline in richness with high precipitation. We suggest that the decline in granivore richness is due to increased litter associated with increased productivity. VL - 87 ER -