An Ecological Comparison of Small Mammal Communities in California and Chile1
نویسندگان
چکیده
Assistant Professor of Zoology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469; and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois 60115. Abstract: Our studies in similar scrub habitats in California and Chile reveal some interesting differences between these two regions in the structure of their small mammal communities. The Chilean fauna is less diverse, with fewer species per site, and possibly more extreme density fluctuations. Chilean rodents are more strongly associated with areas of high shrub and rock cover, while California species show a greater variety of habitat preferences. Chile has more insectivorous species, and California has more seed-eating specialists. Some of these differences may be related to biogeographic and climatic factors, while others may reflect a longer history of human disturbance in Chile.
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