Niche Partitioning by Peromyscus californicus and Peromyscus boylii in Mixed Evergreen Forest
نویسنده
چکیده
We used 126 Sherman live traps on a 9 by 14 grid at the University of California Santa Cruz Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) to look at small mammal diversity in a mixed evergreen forest. The ability for Peromyscus boylii and Peromyscus californicus to coexist in the same area is believed to be a form of niche partitioning at the canopy level. We used multivariate logistic regression to look for a correlation between the presence of each mouse species and the stem count of 7 of the most common tree species within 10 meters of each trapping station on the plot. P. boylii was correlated with Lithocarpus densiflorus during all three trapping sessions. P. californicus was correlated with Pseudotsuga menziesii and Quercus agrifolia during the spring and summer, but its correlation changed to Quercus agrifolia, Quercus parvula, Arbutus menziesii, and Corylus cornuta during fall. These results show that P. boylii is more of a specialist and P. californicus is more of a generalist in the same habitat. These correlations suggest that microhabitat partitioning is occurring by these two species, allowing for them to coexist.
منابع مشابه
Peromyscus boylii (Rodentia: Cricetidae)
Peromyscus boylii (Baird, 1855), the brush deermouse, is a common cricetid rodent in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is a member of the Peromyscus boylii species group and has had a complicated taxonomic history because many former subspecies have been elevated to species. It is a medium-sized Peromyscus with small ears and a long, slightly bicolored and slightly haired tail that ...
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