Species richness- productivity relationship for small mammals along a desert-grassland continuum: differential responses of functional groups

TitleSpecies richness- productivity relationship for small mammals along a desert-grassland continuum: differential responses of functional groups
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2006
AuthorsReed, AW, Kaufman, GA, Kaufman, DW
JournalJournal of Mammalogy
Volume87
Pagination777 -783
Accession NumberKNZ001039
Keywordsdesert, functional group, Grasslands, Primary productivity, Resource heterogeneity, small mammals, Species richness
Abstract

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.

DOI10.1644/05-MAMM-A-253R2.1