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

该奖项支持俄克拉荷马大学的Michael Mares博士和两名阿根廷科学家ING在小型哺乳动物沙漠生态方面的合作研究。Cuyo大学的Virgilio Roig和干旱区域研究所的Ricardo Ojeda博士，两人都在门多萨。这项研究项目将研究阿根廷中西部干旱地区的栖息地选择、种群生态和小型哺乳动物的生理学。收集的数据将有助于确定两个不同的啮齿动物组合的适应和定居模式。依赖密度的栖息地选择假说的有效性将得到检验。这一结果将有助于了解南部沙漠中的小型哺乳动物如何在更大的沙漠生态系统中发挥作用，并将为南美洲一个重要沙漠地区的发展提供见解。英。Roig将研究小型哺乳动物对沙漠的生理适应，而Ojeda博士将长期监测研究区域的种群生物学、繁殖和栖息地选择。Mares博士将研究不同栖息地的栖息地选择模式，重点是栖息地选择对种群密度的依赖。因此，这项研究的范围比单独由一位科学家完成的范围更广。Roig和Ojeda是永久的现场调查员，Mares将在生态、生理和系统研究方面增加丰富的经验。此外，培训北美和南美的技术人员和学生将是这项研究的两个国家的额外互惠互利。

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.