Why do kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) footdrum at snakes?

The composition of seed banks on kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis) mounds in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland

Disturbance is a major factor determining the plant community structure of ecological systems. In particular, small-scale disturbances from animals can increase heterogeneity and species diversity in plant communities. Kangaroo rat (Dipodomys spectabilis) mounds are small-scale disturbances that support unique plant communities compared to surrounding habitats. The seed bank, which is usually a...

Recent demographic bottlenecks are not accompanied by a genetic signature in banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis).

Single-sample methods of bottleneck detection are now routine analyses in studies of wild populations and conservation genetics. Three common approaches to bottleneck detection are the heterozygosity excess, mode-shift, and M-ratio tests. Empirical groundtruthing of these methods is difficult, but their performances are critical for the accurate reconstruction of population demography. We use t...

Sexually differentiated effects of radio transmitters on predation risk and behaviour in kangaroo rats Dipodomys merriami

analysis without significantly affecting intestine weight o r length. If the source of carcasses is unknown, then an analysis of small intestine weight, either as a measure of intestine size o r to examine the effects of dietary, seasonal, sex, o r age differences, should be treated with caution. If the same information can be gained by examining intestine length, this is preferred. Nevertheles...

Aboveground Activity of Merriam's Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys merriami) in Relation to Sex and Reproduction

Behavioural syndromes in Merriam's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami): a test of competing hypotheses.

Behavioural syndromes, correlations of behaviours conceptually analogous to personalities, have been a topic of recent attention due to their potential to explain trade-offs in behavioural responses, apparently maladaptive behaviour and limits to plasticity. Using Merriam's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami), we assessed the explanatory power and generality of hypothesized syndrome structures d...