The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents
Resource partitioning may allow species coexistence. Sand dunes in the typical steppe of Alxa Desert Inner Mongolia, China, consisting of desert, shrub, and grass habitats, provide an appropriate system for studies of spatial niche partitioning among small mammals. In this study, the spatial niche c...
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/5/734 |
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| author | Xin Li Na Zhu Ming Ming Lin-Lin Li Fan Bu Xiao-Dong Wu Shuai Yuan He-Ping Fu |
| author_facet | Xin Li Na Zhu Ming Ming Lin-Lin Li Fan Bu Xiao-Dong Wu Shuai Yuan He-Ping Fu |
| author_sort | Xin Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Resource partitioning may allow species coexistence. Sand dunes in the typical steppe of Alxa Desert Inner Mongolia, China, consisting of desert, shrub, and grass habitats, provide an appropriate system for studies of spatial niche partitioning among small mammals. In this study, the spatial niche characteristics of four rodents, <i>Orientallactaga sibirica</i>, <i>Meriones meridianus</i>, <i>Dipus sagitta,</i> and <i>Phodopus roborovskii</i>, and their responses to environmental changes in the Alxa Desert were studied from 2017 to 2021. Using the capture-mark-recapture method, we tested if desert rodents with different biological characteristics and life history strategies under heterogeneous environmental conditions allocate resources in spatial niches to achieve sympatric coexistence. We investigated the influence of environmental factors on the spatial niche breadth of rodents using random forest and redundancy analyses. We observed that the spatial niche overlap between <i>O. sibirica</i> and other rodents is extremely low (overlap index ≤ 0.14). <i>P. roborovskii</i> had the smallest spatial niche breadth. Spatial niche overlap was observed in two distinct species pairs, <i>M. meridianus</i> and <i>D. sagitta</i>, and <i>P. roborovskii</i> and <i>D. sagitta</i>. The Pielou evenness index of rodent communities is closely related to the spatial distribution of rodents, and the concealment of habitats is a key factor affecting the spatial occupation of rodents. |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T00:36:15Z |
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| spelling | doaj.art-2c4bafcc21f843f0a61612dd1e27c3932024-03-12T16:38:06ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-02-0114573410.3390/ani14050734The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert RodentsXin Li0Na Zhu1Ming Ming2Lin-Lin Li3Fan Bu4Xiao-Dong Wu5Shuai Yuan6He-Ping Fu7College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaCollege of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 29 Erdos East Street, Saihan District, Hohhot 010011, ChinaResource partitioning may allow species coexistence. Sand dunes in the typical steppe of Alxa Desert Inner Mongolia, China, consisting of desert, shrub, and grass habitats, provide an appropriate system for studies of spatial niche partitioning among small mammals. In this study, the spatial niche characteristics of four rodents, <i>Orientallactaga sibirica</i>, <i>Meriones meridianus</i>, <i>Dipus sagitta,</i> and <i>Phodopus roborovskii</i>, and their responses to environmental changes in the Alxa Desert were studied from 2017 to 2021. Using the capture-mark-recapture method, we tested if desert rodents with different biological characteristics and life history strategies under heterogeneous environmental conditions allocate resources in spatial niches to achieve sympatric coexistence. We investigated the influence of environmental factors on the spatial niche breadth of rodents using random forest and redundancy analyses. We observed that the spatial niche overlap between <i>O. sibirica</i> and other rodents is extremely low (overlap index ≤ 0.14). <i>P. roborovskii</i> had the smallest spatial niche breadth. Spatial niche overlap was observed in two distinct species pairs, <i>M. meridianus</i> and <i>D. sagitta</i>, and <i>P. roborovskii</i> and <i>D. sagitta</i>. The Pielou evenness index of rodent communities is closely related to the spatial distribution of rodents, and the concealment of habitats is a key factor affecting the spatial occupation of rodents.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/5/734<i>Orientallactaga sibirica</i><i>Meriones meridianus</i><i>Dipus sagitta</i><i>Phodopus roborovskii</i>spatial nicheimpact factors |
| spellingShingle | Xin Li Na Zhu Ming Ming Lin-Lin Li Fan Bu Xiao-Dong Wu Shuai Yuan He-Ping Fu The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents Animals <i>Orientallactaga sibirica</i> <i>Meriones meridianus</i> <i>Dipus sagitta</i> <i>Phodopus roborovskii</i> spatial niche impact factors |
| title | The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents |
| title_full | The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents |
| title_fullStr | The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents |
| title_short | The Spatial Niche and Influencing Factors of Desert Rodents |
| title_sort | spatial niche and influencing factors of desert rodents |
| topic | <i>Orientallactaga sibirica</i> <i>Meriones meridianus</i> <i>Dipus sagitta</i> <i>Phodopus roborovskii</i> spatial niche impact factors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/5/734 |
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