Filters: Tags: high desert grasslands (X)
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The influence of landscape spatial structure on ecological processes has recently received much attention. Comparisons are made here between the spatial structure of grasslands, and active and extirpated Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni Hollister) towns at the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, U.S.A. The spatial structure of bare ground was quatified using a box-counting technique to extract landscape fractal dimensions, D, and bare-ground patch size. These landscapes are fractal, and active prairie dog towns had higher fractal dimensions, i.e. a more homogeneous spatial structure as D approaches 2, than inactive towns, which had higher fractal dimensions than unmodified grasslands. Morisita's index...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation,
Journal Citation;
Tags: Arizona,
Cynomys gunnisoni,
Gunnison's prairie dog,
Journal of Arid Environments,
Morisita's index,
Previous studies have shown that landscape structure influences animal movement and population structure. In this study, we show an indirect interaction between beetles and prairie dogs due to prairie dog ecosystem engineering. Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni Hollister) towns have more bare ground and are structurally less complex than adjacent unmodified grasslands. This results in bare ground facilitating beetle movement. Differences in landscape structure between prairie dog towns and unmodified grasslands had a significant effect on the movement of the darkling beetle, Eleodes hispilabris Say. Beetle movement tended to be more linear (pathway fractal dimension approached 1) on prairie dog habitats...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation,
Journal Citation;
Tags: Arizona,
Cynomys gunnisoni,
Eleodes hispilabris,
High desert grasslands,
Journal of Arid Environments,
Ecosystem engineering by animals can create new habitats and increase the heterogeneity of the habitat mosaic that in turn can increase plant and animal diversity. Prairie dogs in North America alter both the above- and below-ground structure of the landscape and create novel habitats in grassland ecosystems. The ground-dwelling arthropod community associated with Gunnison's prairie dog modified habitats is compositionally different from that found in the surrounding grassland. Individual arthropod families and species have different distributions in both active prairie dog towns and inactive towns, compared to unmodified grasslands. These different responses to ecosystem engineering increase beta (between-habitat)...
Categories: Publication;
Types: Citation,
Journal Citation;
Tags: Gunnison's prairie dog,
Journal of Arid Environments,
Petrified Forest National Park,
arthropod assemblage,
conservation,
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