Composition of the Community of Small Mammals in the Great Basin Desert
Composition of the Community of Small Mammals in the Great Basin Desert
复制标题
大盆地沙漠小哺乳动物群落的组成
DOI：
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发表时间：
2018
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
S. E. Phillips
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
S. E. Phillips
小型哺乳动物是干旱生态系统中的一个关键行业;通常表现出自上而下的控制植物群落的多样性和结构。然而，不断变化的气候，不断变化的火灾制度，以及外来植物的入侵正在改变干旱系统的结构。这些干旱系统中的环境变化可能会改变小型哺乳动物群落，从而改变它们的生态作用。我们的目标是确定在过去的世纪里，大盆地沙漠的小型哺乳动物群落是否发生了变化。我们比较了1930年和1980年之间采样的社区，今天的小型哺乳动物群落的多样性和组成。我们在2014年和2015年夏天对大盆地东部地区的234个历史地点进行了采样。研究结果表明，在过去的世纪中，大盆地小型哺乳动物的多样性、丰富度和均匀度均显著下降（P=0.002，P=0.03，P=0.002）。通才种的相对丰度增加，而专化种的相对丰度下降（P<0.001，P<0.001）。此外，在过去的世纪中，每个地点的小型哺乳动物群落的组成发生了显着变化。小型哺乳动物群落结构的改变可能对大盆地生态区的未来产生连锁反应。
Small mammals are a keystone guild in arid ecosystems; often exhibiting top-down control of the diversity and structure of plant communities. However, changing climate, shifting fire regimes, and the invasion of exotic plants are modifying the structure of arid systems. Environmental changes in these arid systems are likely altering small mammal communities, and therefore, their ecological role. Our objective was to determine if there have been shifts in the small mammal communities of the Great Basin Desert over the past century. We compared diversity and composition of present day small mammal communities to communities sampled between the years of 1930 and 1980. We sampled 234 historical locations across the eastern Great Basin region during the summers of 2014 and 2015. Our results indicated that diversity, richness, and evenness of small mammals in the Great Basin have declined significantly over the last century (P=0.002, P=0.03, P=0.002). The relative abundance of generalist species has increased, while specialist species have declined (P<0.001, P<0.001). Also, composition of the community of small mammals at each site has changed significantly over the past century. Alterations in the community structure of small mammals may have cascading implications for the future of the Great Basin ecoregion.