Rabbit Abundance Relative to Rainfall and Plant Production in Northern Chihuahuan Desert Grassland and Shrubland Habitats
Rabbit Abundance Relative to Rainfall and Plant Production in Northern Chihuahuan Desert Grassland and Shrubland Habitats
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奇瓦瓦州北部沙漠草原和灌木丛栖息地的兔子丰度与降雨量和植物产量的关系
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发表时间：
2011
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Dara G. Parker
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作者：
D. Lightfoot;Ana D. Davidson;Christopher M. McGlone;Dara G. Parker
摘要。北美西南部的兔子数量模式知之甚少，特别是相对于降雨和植物生产的潜在重要影响。我们进行了为期10年的研究，黑尾长耳大野兔（Lepus californicus）和沙漠棉尾兔（Sylvilagus audubonii）的年降雨量和植物产量的比较密度在黑色格兰马（Bouteloua eriopoda）草原和杂酚油灌木（Larrea tridentata）灌木林栖息地在北方奇瓦瓦沙漠。我们发现，这两个物种的兔子更丰富的黑格兰玛草原比杂酚灌木灌丛，植物产量与降雨量呈正相关，在这两个栖息地。然而，兔子密度与降雨量或植物产量在任何一个栖息地都没有正相关。事实上，这两个物种的兔子表现出逐渐的，多年的变化，而不是在沙漠啮齿动物群落中观察到的高年度变化的模式。我们的研究结果没有显着的植物产量和兔子密度之间的关系表明，兔子丰度在北方奇瓦瓦沙漠可能不会受到强烈的短期，自下而上的影响，每年的植物产量的变化。长期趋势表明，疾病或捕食等其他因素可能同样重要或更为重要。我们建议，未来的研究评估自上而下和自下而上的影响，以阐明时间动态的奇瓦瓦沙漠兔丰度。
ABSTRACT. Rabbit abundance patterns in the North American Southwest are poorly known, particularly relative to the potentially important influences of rainfall and plant production. We conducted a 10-year study on the comparative densities of black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) and desert cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus audubonii) in relation to annual rainfall and plant production in both black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) grassland and creosotebush (Larrea tridentata) shrubland habitats in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. We found that both species of rabbits were more abundant in black grama grassland than in creosotebush shrubland and that plant production was positively correlated with rainfall at both habitats. However, rabbit densities were not positively correlated with rainfall or plant production in either habitat. In fact, both species of rabbits exhibited gradual, multiyear changes in abundance rather than the patterns of high annual variation observed in desert rodent communities. Our findings of no significant relationship between plant production and rabbit densities indicate that rabbit abundance in the northern Chihuahuan Desert may not be strongly regulated by short-term, bottom-up effects of annual variation in plant production. Long-term trends indicate that other factors such as disease or predation may be equally or more important. We suggest that future research evaluate both top-down and bottom-up influences to elucidate the temporal dynamics of Chihuahuan Desert rabbit abundance.