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Denomme-Brown ST, Cottenie K, Falls JB, Falls EA, Brooks RJ, McAdam AG. Examining the effects of heterospecific abundance on dispersal in forest small mammals. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The effects of conspecific densities on dispersal have been well documented. However, while positive and negative density-dependent dispersal based on conspecific densities often are shown to be the result of intraspecific competition or facilitation, respectively, the effects of heterospecific densities on dispersal have been examined far less frequently. This gap in knowledge warrants investigation given the potential for the analogous processes of interspecific competition and heterospecific attraction to influence dispersal patterns and behavior. Here we use a long-term live-trapping study of deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus), red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi), and jumping mice (Napaeozapus insignis and Zapus hudsonius) to examine the effects of variation in conspecific and heterospecific abundances on dispersal frequency. In terms of conspecific abundance, jumping mice were more likely to disperse from areas with fewer conspecifics, while red-backed voles and chipmunks did not respond to variation in conspecific abundances in their dispersal frequencies. While there were no statistically significant effects of variation in heterospecific abundances on dispersal frequency, some effect sizes for heterospecific abundance effects on dispersal met or exceeded those of conspecific abundances. Conspecific abundances clearly can affect dispersal by some species in this system, but the effects of heterospecific abundances on dispersal frequency are less clear. Based on effect sizes, it appears that there may be potential for heterospecific effects on dispersal by some species in the community, although the strength and causes of these relationships remain unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon T Denomme-Brown
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Canada
| | - Karl Cottenie
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Canada
| | - J Bruce Falls
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - E Ann Falls
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ronald J Brooks
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E., Guelph, Canada
| | - Andrew G McAdam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, Canada
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Shorb CM, Freymiller LA, Hernandez DL. Differential responses of prairie rodents to edge effects from recreational trails. NATURE CONSERVATION 2020. [DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.41.52100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Edge effects are a common phenomenon in which an ecological variable changes with respect to distance from a habitat edge. Recreational trails may constitute a habitat edge for prairie rodents because of high human presence, high predator presence, or limited shelter compared to the prairie core. Despite the prevalence of trails in conservation parcels, their effect on wildlife distribution remains largely unstudied. We examined the impacts of recreational trails on small mammal activity in the restored prairies of the Cowling Arboretum at Carleton College. The prairies were restored from 1995 to 2008 and now comprise a contiguous prairie block of approximately 155 ha. Over 2 consecutive summers, we used infrared motion-sensing cameras to record the relative amount of time rodents spend at baited stations placed at different distances from the trail. The results varied between taxa: voles (Microtus spp.) avoided trail edges whereas mouse (Cricetidae and Dipodidae) and thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) activity was unaffected by trail proximity. Trails may therefore have species-specific effects on small mammals, with potential consequences for the connectivity and distribution of populations.
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Denomme-Brown ST, Cottenie K, Falls JB, Falls EA, Brooks RJ, McAdam AG. Variation in space and time: a long-term examination of density-dependent dispersal in a woodland rodent. Oecologia 2020; 193:903-912. [PMID: 32809054 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04728-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Dispersal is a fundamental ecological process that can be affected by population density, yet studies report contrasting effects of density on propensity to disperse. In addition, the relationship between dispersal and density is seldom examined using densities measured at different spatial scales or over extensive time series. We used 51 years of trapping data to examine how dispersal by wild deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) was affected by changes in both local and regional population densities. We examined these patterns over both the entire time series and also in 10-year shifting windows to determine whether the nature and strength of the relationship changed through time. Probability of dispersal decreased with increased local and regional population density, and the negative effect of local density on dispersal was more pronounced in years with low regional densities. In addition, the strength of negative density-dependent dispersal changed through time, ranging from very strong in some decades to absent in other periods of the study. Finally, while females were less likely to disperse, female dispersal was more density-dependent than male dispersal. Our study shows that the relationship between density and dispersal is not temporally static and that investigations of density-dependent dispersal should consider both local and regional population densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon T Denomme-Brown
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Karl Cottenie
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - J Bruce Falls
- Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - E Ann Falls
- Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ronald J Brooks
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd. E., Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Andrew G McAdam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309-0334, USA
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Gorosito I, BenÍtez A, Busch M. Home range variability, spatial aggregation, and excursions of Akodon azarae and Oligoryzomys flavescens in Pampean agroecosystems. Integr Zool 2020; 15:401-415. [PMID: 32304184 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Rodents are reservoirs of various types of hantavirus, some of which are agents of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in humans. Each hantavirus is associated with a single rodent host species but successive spill-over events may eventually lead to host-switching and new species' becoming host of a given pathogen. This study aims to gain an understanding of the spatial ecology of two hantavirus-host species, Akodon azarae, and Oligoryzomys flavescens, by identifying factors modulating their home range sizes and stability, and by evaluating intra- and interspecific spatial aggregation for these species and a third one-Oxymycterus rufus-living in sympatry. For this, eleven capture-mark-recapture surveys were carried out, spanning 22 months. We found that A. azarae males have larger and more mobile home ranges than females, independently of the season. Consequently, males could likely have a more relevant role in the transmission of hantavirus because of their greater exposure both to a higher number of contacts between individuals and viral contamination of the environment. Contrasting, O. flavescens individuals showed negligible displacements of their home range through time, which could limit the range of hantavirus spread in host populations. Since O. flavescens is host to Lechiguanas hantavirus (pathogenic to humans) this result encompasses epidemiological relevance, for it may imply the existence of local foci of infection. Additionally, individuals of both species performed excursions outside their home ranges. These events could enable hantavirus spread over distances beyond the normal range of movements and lead to new hantavirus outbreaks in formerly non-infected rodent populations, favoring the persistence of the virus in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Gorosito
- Laboratorio de, Ecología de Poblaciones, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ailén BenÍtez
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maria Busch
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Mechanisms underlying increased nest predation in natural gas fields: a test of the mesopredator release hypothesis. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
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Cleveland D, Hinck JE, Lankton JS. Assessment of chronic low-dose elemental and radiological exposures of biota at the Kanab North uranium mine site in the Grand Canyon watershed. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2019; 15:112-125. [PMID: 30136757 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
High-grade U ore deposits are in various stages of exploitation across the Grand Canyon watershed, yet the effects of U mining on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. We characterized the concentrations of Al, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, Tl, Th, U, and Zn, gross alpha and beta activities, and U and Th radioisotopes in soil, vegetation (Hesperostipa comata, Artemisia tridentata, Tamarix chinensis), and rodents (Peromyscus maniculatus, P. boylii) to waste material at the Kanab North mine, a mine with decades-long surficial contamination, and compared the concentrations (P < 0.01) to those at a premining site (Canyon Mine). Rodent tissues were also analyzed for radium-226 and microscopic lesions. Radioactivities and some elemental concentrations (e.g., Co, Pb, U) were greater in the Kanab North mine biological samples than in Canyon Mine biota, indicating a mining-related elemental signature. Mean rodent Ra-226 (111 Bq/kg dry weight [dry wt]) was 3 times greater than expected, indicating radioactive disequilibrium. Multiple soil sample U concentrations exceeded a screening benchmark, growth inhibition thresholds for sensitive plants, and an EC20 for a soil arthropod. Lesions associated with metals exposure were also observed more frequently in rodents at Kanab North than those at Canyon Mine but could not be definitively attributed to U mining. Our results indicate that Kanab North biota have taken up U mining-related elements owing to chronic exposure to surficial contamination. However, no literature-based effects thresholds for small rodents were exceeded, and only a few soil and vegetation thresholds for sensitive species were exceeded; therefore, adverse effects to biota from U mining-related elements at Kanab North are unlikely despite chronic exposure. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:112-125. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Cleveland
- US Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Jo Ellen Hinck
- US Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Julia S Lankton
- US Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin
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Marines-Macías T, Colunga-Salas P, Verde Arregoitia LD, Naranjo EJ, León-Paniagua L. Space use by two arboreal rodent species in a Neotropical cloud forest. J NAT HIST 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2018.1459921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tania Marines-Macías
- Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico
| | - Pablo Colunga-Salas
- Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico
| | - Luis D. Verde Arregoitia
- Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico
- Naturhistorisches Museum Bern, Wirbeltiere, Bern, Switzerland
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Eduardo J. Naranjo
- Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico
| | - Livia León-Paniagua
- Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Mexico
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Tamburino L, Bravo G. Mice in Wonderforest: Understanding mast seeding through individual-based modelling. Ecol Modell 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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