Two "superhero" rodents, the kangaroo rat and the prairie dog, thrive amid the heat and dry sand of the desert Southwest. Each creature influences its environment to an extent that far outweighs its size - a real-life version of Mighty Mouse. In the Chihuahuan Desert, banner-tailed kangaroo rats and Gunnison and black-tailed prairie dogs fill the role of keystone species, animals whose presence significantly affects the overall health of an ecosystem. Now, a groundbreaking new study has determined that where one keystone species is good, two may be even better. For with their powers combined, these "superhero" rodents create super habitat. ( HCN)
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Enrique Gili is a freelance writer covering Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS), issues for regional magazines in the Southland and beyond. I live in Ocean Beach, San Diego the coolest beach town around.
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Super Rodents, Create Super Habitat
Category: Environment
Posted on: August 13, 2007 11:53 AM, by EJGili
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Thanks for the news link! I spent all summer in Gunnison's colonies doing research for my REU program, and I noticed the abundance of beetles and other insects (which are surprisingly sparse at those altitudes, the colony was pretty much the only place I saw "bugs" the entire time I was in Flagstaff) around the burrows.
I knew both of those species were keystone species, but I had never thought about different keystones acting synergistically, very interesting! Although the Gunnison's tend to prefer higher altitudes and I didn't think k-rats ventured up very high, I wonder how much of a percentage of their distributions overlap.
Posted by: Anne-Marie | August 14, 2007 04:02 PM