Study on the Classification and Diversity of Zonal Rodent Community in Semi-Desert and Desert Areas of China

Xiaodong Wu^1,2*, Heping Fu^1,3, Shuai Yuan^1,2, Quanrong Gao⁴, Xiuxian Yue⁵

¹College of Ecology and Environmental Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
²Laboratory of Prataculture and Grassland Resources of Education Ministry, Hohhot, China.
³Vocational and Technical College, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
⁴Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
⁵Inner Mongolia Forestry Monitoring and Planning Institute, Hohhot, China.

DOI: 10.4236/oje.2015.53005                

Abstract

Many studies focus on rodent community pattern and changing at present in the world, but most of them are conducted in small plots. Few studies investigated the rodent community classification and diversity in semi-desert and desert areas at regional scale, although some researchers started to study the change of animal community patterns on a large scale. We investigated rodent communities in desert, non-irrigated farming land and desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, covering an area of 380,000 km² from May to August in 1988-1993 and in 1998-2003, respectively, in order to reveal the changing characteristics of zonal rodent communities. The community classification and diversity of rodents were analyzed in research areas. The results suggested that the communities could be classified in 9 zonal types. Spermophilus dauricus, Cricetulus longicaudatus and Eutamias sibiricus were dominant species in Community I; Phodopus roborovskii, Cricetulus barabansis and Cricetulus longicaudatus were dominant in Community II; Meriones unguiculatus, Phodopus roborovskii and Cricetulus longicaudatus were dominant in Community III; Allactaga sibirica, Allactaga bullata and Spermophilus dauricus were dominant in Community IV; Allactaga bullata, Dipus sagitta and Meriones unguiculatus were dominant in Community V; Meriones meridianus, Spermophilus dauricus and Allactaga bullata were dominant in Community VI; Allactaga sibirica, Allactaga bullata and Dipus sagitta were dominant in Community VII; Phodopus roborovskii, Dipus sagitta and Allactaga sibirica were dominant in Community VIII; Meriones meridianus, Dipus sagitta and Allactaga sibirica were dominant in Community IX. The community diversity and evenness analysis showed that the edge effect of community, the effect of disturbance and habitat fragmentation and scale effect were significantly correlated with community diversity in the semi-desert and desert regions. The ordinal results of 9 zonal rodent communities were in accordance with the results analyzed with similar community indices, showing the habitat change in the characteristics of the above-mentioned groups.

Keywords

Rodent Community, Classification, Desert Ecosystem

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Kelt, D.A., Brown, J.H., et al. (1996) Community Structure of Desert Small Mammals: Comparisons across Four Continents. Ecology, 77, 746-761. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2265499
[2]	Forman, R.T.T. and Godron, M. (1986) Landscape Ecology. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
[3]	Bower, M.A. and Dooley, J.L. (1991) Role of Habitat Mosaics on the Outcome of Two-Species Competition. Oikos, 60, 180-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3544864
[4]	Holling, C.S. (1992) Cross-Scale Morphology, Geometry and Dynamics of Ecosystems. Ecological Monograph, 62, 447-502. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2937313
[5]	Harrison, S. (1995) Meta-Population and Conservation. Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge, 111-128.
[6]	Collinge, S.K. (1996) Ecological Consequences of Habitat Fragmentation: Implications for Landscape Architecture and Planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 36, 59-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(96)00341-6
[7]	Williams, S.E., Marsh, H. and Winter, J. (2002) Spatial Scale, Species Diversity, and Habitat Structure: Small Mammals in Australian Tropical Rain Forest. Ecology, 83, 1317-1329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[1317:SSSDAH]2.0.CO;2
[8]	Kie, J.G., Bowyer, R.T., et al. (2002) Landscape Heterogeneity at Difference Scales: Effects on Spatial Distribution of Mule Deer. Ecology, 82, 530-544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0530:LHADSE]2.0.CO;2
[9]	Cramer, M.J. and Willig, M.R. (2002) Habitat Heterogeneity, Habitat Association, and Rodent Species Diversity in a Sand-Shinnery-Oak Landscape. Journal of Mammalogy, 83, 743-753. http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0743:HHHAAR>2.0.CO;2
[10]	Ouyang, Z.Y., Wang, X.K. and Miao, H. (2000) China’s Eco-Environmental Sensitivity and Its Spatial Heterogeneity. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 20, 9-12.
[11]	Jiang, G., Zhao, T., Liu, J., Xu, L., Yu, G., He, H., et al. (2011) Effects of ENSO-Linked Climate and Vegetation on Population Dynamics of Sympatric Rodent Species in Semiarid Grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 89, 678-691. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z11-048
[12]	Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Comprehensive Investigation Team, Chinese Academy of Sciences (1985) Vegetation of Inner Mongolia. Science Press, Beijing.
[13]	Inner Mongolia Editorial Commission of Grassland Resources (1990) Grassland Resources of Inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolia People’s Publishing House, Hohhot.
[14]	Whittaker, R.H. (1960) Vegetation of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon and California. Ecological Monographs, 30, 279-338. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1943563
[15]	Shannon, C.E. and Weaver, W. (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication. The University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 117 p.
[16]	Pielou, E.C.J. (1966) The Measurement of Diversity in Different Types of Biological Collections. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 13, 131-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(66)90013-0
[17]	Davies, K.F., Melbourne, B.A. and Margules, C.R. (2001) Effects of Withinand Between-Patch Processes on Community Dynamics in a Fragmentation Experiment. Ecology, 82, 1830-1846. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2001)082[1830:EOWABP]2.0.CO;2
[18]	Zhao, Y.J. and Wang, T.Z. (1996) The Studies on Rodent Community Structure in Farmland of Yellow Soil Plateau of Yuxi: Fuzzy Cluster Analysis and Comparing of Three Similar Subscript. Acta Theriologica Sinica, 16, 67-75.
[19]	Zhao, Y.J., Wang, T.Z., et al. (1997) The Studies on Rodent Community Structure in Farmland of Yellow Soil Plateau of Yuxi: Preliminary Analysis of Pattern on Temporal and Spatial Scales. Acta Theriologica Sinica, 17, 197-203.
[20]	Smith, F.D.M., May, R.M. and Harvey, P.H. (1994) Geographical Ranges of Australian Mammals. Journal of Animal Ecology, 63, 441-450.
[21]	Letcher, A.J., Seannee, A.P. and Harvey, P.H. (1994) Patterns of Overlap in the Geographical Ranges of Pale Arctic and British Mammals. Journal of Animal Ecology, 63, 871-879. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/5264
[22]	Brown, J.H. (1999) The Legacy of Rodent Macarthur: From Geographical Ecology to Macroecology. Journal of Mammalogy, 80, 333-344. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1383283
[23]	Stevens, R.D. and Willig, M.R. (2002) Geographical Ecology at the Community Level: Perspectives on the Diversity of New World Bats. Ecology, 83, 545-560. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0545:GEATCL]2.0.CO;2
[24]	Mackinnon, J.L., Petty, S.J., Elston, D.A., Thomas, C.J., Sherratt, T.N. and Lambin, X. (2001) Scale Invariant Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Field Vole Density. Journal of Animal Ecology, 70, 101-111.
[25]	Hughes, T.P., Baird, A.H., Dinsdale, E.A., Harriott, V.J., Moltschaniwskyj, N.A., Pratchett, M.S., et al. (2002) Detecting Regional Variation Using Meta-Analysis and Large-Scale Sampling: Latitudinal Pattern in Recruitment. Ecology, 83, 436-451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0436:DRVUMA]2.0.CO;2
[26]	MacArthur, R.H. and MacArthur, J.W. (1961) On Bird Species Diversity. Ecology, 42, 594-598. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1932254
[27]	Turner, M.G. (1989) Landscape Ecology: The Effect of Pattern on Process. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 20, 171-197. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.20.110189.001131
[28]	Turner, M.G. and Gardner, R.H. (1991) Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology. Springer-Verlag, New York, 458 p.
[29]	Lloyd, A.L. and May, R.M. (1996) Spatial Heterogeneity in Epidemic Models. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 179, 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jtbi.1996.0042
[30]	Bowman, G.B. and Harris, L.D. (1980) Effect of Spatial Heterogeneity on Ground-Nest Depredation. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 44, 806-813. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3808308
[31]	Scott, B.E., Sharples, J., Ross, O.N., Wang, J., Pierce, G.J. and Camphuysen, C.J. (2010) Sub-Surface Hotspots in Shallow Seas: Fine-Scale Limited Locations of Top Predator Foraging Habitat Indicated by Tidal Mixing and Sub-Surface Chlorophyll. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 408, 207-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps08552
[32]	Good, S.V., Williams, D.F., Ralls, K. and Fleischer, R.C. (1997) Population Structure of Dipodomys ingens (Heteromyidae): The Role of Spatial Heterogeneity in Maintaining Genetic Diversity. Evolution, 51, 1296-1310. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2411058
[33]	Pacala, S. and Roughgarden, J. (1982) Resource Partitioning and Interspecific Competition in Two Two-Species Insular Anolis Lizard Communities. Science, 217, 444-446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.217.4558.444
[34]	Stenseth, N.C. (1980) Spatial Heterogeneity and Population Stability: Some Evolutionary Consequences. Oikos, 35, 165-184. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3544425
[35]	Dempster, J.P. and Pollard, E. (1986) Spatial Heterogeneity, Stochasticity and the Detection of Density Dependence in Animal Populations. Oikos, 46, 413-416. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3565842
[36]	Dunning, J.B., Danielson, B.J. and Pulliam, H.R. (1992) Ecological Processes That Affect Populations in Complex Landscapes. Oikos, 65, 169-175. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3544901
[37]	Smith, M.A. and Green, D.M. (2005) Dispersal and the Metapopulation Paradigm in Amphibian Ecology and Conservation: Are All Amphibian Populations Metapopulations. Ecography, 28, 110-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0906-7590.2005.04042.x
[38]	Roth, R.R. (1976) Spatial Heterogeneity and Bird Species Diversity. Ecology, 57, 773-782. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1936190
[39]	Holt, R.D. (1984) Spatial Heterogeneity, Indirect Interactions, and the Coexistence of Prey Species. American Naturalist, 124, 377-406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/284280
[40]	Holt, R.D. (1997) From Metapopulation Dynamics to Community Structure: Some Consequences of Spatial Heterogeneity. Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics and Evolution. Academic Press, New York, 149.
[41]	With, K.A., King, A.W. and Jensen, W.E. (2008) Remaining Large Grasslands May Not Be Sufficient to Prevent Grassland Bird Declines. Biological Conservation, 141, 3152-3167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.09.025
[42]	Browers, M.A. and Matter, S.F. (1997) Landscape Ecology of Mammals: Relationships between Density and Patch Size. Journal of Mammalogy, 78, 999-1013. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1383044
[43]	Gubista, K.R. (1999) Small Mammals of the Ituri Forest, Zaire: Diversity and Abundance in Ecologically Distinct Habitats. Journal of Mammalogy, 80, 252-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1383225
[44]	Schluter, D. and Ricklefs, R.E. (1993) Species Diversity: An Introduction to the Problem. In: Ricklefs, R.E. and Schluter, D., Eds., Species Diversity in Ecological Communities: Historical and Geographical Perspectives, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1-10.
[45]	Levin, S.A. (1992) The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology. Ecology, 73, 1943-1967. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1941447