U.S.-Argentina Cooperative Research on Small Mammal Ecology in Argentine Deserts: Physiology, Population Biology, and Species Interactions

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This award supports cooperative research on small mammal desert ecology to be conducted by Dr. Michael Mares of the University of Oklahoma and two Argentine scientists, Ing. Virgilio Roig at the University of Cuyo and Dr. Ricardo Ojeda of the Institute of Arid Zone Studies, both in Mendoza. This research project will examine habitat selection, population ecology and the physiology of small mammals in the arid zone of west-central Argentina. The data collected will help identify the patterns of adaptation and colonization by two disparate assemblages of rodents. The validity of a density-dependent habitat selection hypothesis will be tested. The results will help provide an understanding of how small mammals of the southern desert function within the larger desert ecosystem and will offer insights into the development of an important desert region of South America. Ing. Roig will investigate the physiological adaptations of small mammals to deserts while Dr. Ojeda will monitor over the long term the population biology, reproduction and habitat selection in a study area. Dr. Mares will examine patterns of habitat selection in various habitats with emphasis on the dependence of habitat choice on population density. Thus the scope of the research is broader than if done by one scientist alone. Roig and Ojeda are the permanent on-site investigators and Mares will add extensive experience in ecological, physiological and systematic research. Also, training of both North and South American technicians and students will be an additional mutual benefit to both countries of this research.