Rapid response of a grassland ecosystem to an experimental manipulation of a keystone rodent and domestic livestock

Ecology

Volumn 91, Issue 11, 2010, Pages 3189-3200

  Davidson, Ana D ^a,b   Ponce, Eduardo ^a   Lightfoot, David C ^b   Fredrickson, Ed L ^c   Brown, James H ^b   Cruzado, Juan ^a   Brantley, Sandra L ^b   Sierra Corona, Rodrigo ^a   List, Rurik ^a   Toledo, David ^c,d   Ceballos, Gerardo ^a  

^a INSTITUTO DE ECOLOGÍA   (Mexico)

^b UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO   (United States)

^c AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE   (United States)

^d TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Bos taurus; Chihuahuan desert; Cynomys ludovicianus; Domestic cattle; Ecosystem engineers; Grasshoppers; Grassland; Grazing; Herbivores; Keystone species; Prairie dogs; Vegetation

Indexed keywords

COEXISTENCE; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERING; ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE; EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN; EXPERIMENTAL STUDY; FUNCTIONAL GROUP; GRASSHOPPER; GRASSLAND; HERBIVORE; KEYSTONE SPECIES; LIVESTOCK; RODENT; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM;

ANIMAL; ARTICLE; BUFFALO; CATTLE; DIPODOMYS; ECOSYSTEM; GRASSHOPPER; GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND AGING; MEXICO; PHYSIOLOGY; POACEAE; POPULATION DYNAMICS; SCIURIDAE; SEASON; TIME;

ANIMALS; BISON; CATTLE; DIPODOMYS; ECOSYSTEM; GRASSHOPPERS; MEXICO; POACEAE; POPULATION DYNAMICS; SCIURIDAE; SEASONS; TIME FACTORS;

CHIHUAHUAN DESERT;

ANIMALIA; BISON; BISON BISON; BOS; BOS TAURUS; CYNOMYS; CYNOMYS LUDOVICIANUS; DIPODOMYS SPECTABILIS; MAMMALIA; RODENTIA;

EID: 78249271752     PISSN: 00129658     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1890/09-1277.1     Document Type: Article

References (62)

1. Alba-Lynn, C., and J. K. Detling. 2008. Interactive disturbance effects of two disparate ecosystem engineers in North American shortgrass steppe. Oecologia 157:269-278.
2. Arsenault, R., and N. Owen-Smith. 2002. Facilitation versus competition in grazing herbivore assemblages. Oikos 97:313-318.
3. Bagchi, S., T. Namgail, and M. E. Ritchie. 2006. Small mammalian herbivores as mediators of plant community dynamics in the high-altitude arid rangelands of Trans-Himalaya. Biological Conservation 127:438-442.
4. Bakker, E. S., M. E. Ritchie, H. Olff, D. G. Milchunas, and J. M. H. Knops. 2006. Herbivore impact on grassland plant diversity depends on habitat productivity and herbivore size. Ecology Letters 9:780-788.
5. Boyer, K. E., and P. Fong. 2005. Co-occurrence of habitatmodifying invertebrates: effects on structural and functional properties of a created salt marsh. Oecologia 143:619-628.
6. Branch, L. C., J. L. Hierro, and D. Villarreal. 1999. Patterns of plant species diversity following local extinction of the plains vizcacha in semi-arid scrub. Journal of Arid Environments 41:173-182.
7. Ceballos, G., A. Davidson, R. List, J. Pacheco, P. Manzano-Fischer, G. Santos Barrera, and J. Cruzado. 2010. Rapid decline of a grassland ecosystem and its ecological and conservation implications. PLoS ONE 5: e8562.
8. Cheng, E., and M. E. Ritchie. 2006. Impacts of simulated livestock grazing on Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys pardivens) in a low productivity ecosystem. Oecologia 147:546-555.
9. Cid, M. S., J. K. Detling, A. D. Whicker, and M. A. Brizuela. 1991. Vegetational response of a mixed-grass prairie site following exclusion of bison and prairie dogs. Journal of Range Management 44:100-105.
10. Coppock, D. L., J. E. Ellis, J. K. Detling, and M. I. Dyer. 1983. Plant-herbivore interactions in a North American mixedgrass prairie. II. Responses of bison to modification of vegetation by prairie dogs. Oecologia 56:10-15.
11. Curtin, C. 2008. Interactions between cattle, prairie dogs, and small mammals in a desert grassland. Desert Plants 24:29-38.
12. Davidson, A. D., and D. C. Lightfoot. 2006. Keystone rodent interactions: prairie dogs and kangaroo rats structure the biotic composition of a desertified grassland. Ecography 29:755-756.
13. Davidson, A. D., and D. C. Lightfoot. 2007. Interactive effects of keystone rodents on the structure of desert grassland arthropod communities. Ecography 30:515-525.
14. Davidson, A. D., and D. C. Lightfoot. 2008. Burrowing rodents increase landscape heterogeneity in a desert grassland. Journal of Arid Environments 72:1133-1145.
15. Davidson, A. D., D. C. Lightfoot, and J. M. McIntyre. 2008. Engineering rodents create key habitat for lizards. Journal of Arid Environments 72:2142-2149.
16. Derner, J. D., W. K. Laurenroth, P. Stapp, and D. J. Augustine. 2009. Livestock as ecosystem engineers for grassland bird habitat in the western Great Plains of North America. Rangeland Ecology and Management 62:111-118.
17. Detling, J. K. 2006. Do prairie dogs compete with livestock? Pages 65-88 in J. L. Hoogland, editor. Conservation of the black-tailed prairie dog. Island Press, Washington, D. C., USA.
18. Fahnestock, J. T., and J. K. Detling. 2002. Bison-prairie dogplant interactions in a North American mixed-grass prairie. Oecologia 132:86-95.
19. Farnsworth, K. D., S. Focardi, and J. A. Beecham. 2002. Grassland-herbivore interactions: how do grazers coexist? American Naturalist 159:24-39.
20. Frank, D. A., S. J. McNaughton, and B. F. Tracy. 1998. The ecology of the Earth's grazing ecosystems: profound functional similarities exist between the Serengeti and Yellowstone. BioScience 48:513-521.
21. Gregorini, P., S. A. Gunter, P. A. Beck, K. J. Soder, and S. Tamminga. 2008. Review: The interaction of diurnal grazing pattern, ruminal metabolism, nutrient supply, and management in cattle. Professional Animal Scientist 24:308-318.
22. Helfield, J. M., and R. J. Naiman. 2006. Keystone interactions: salmon and bear in riparian forests of Alaska. Ecosystems 9:167-180.
23. Holechek, J. L., A. Tembo, A. Daniel, M. J. Fusco, and M. Cardenas. 1994. Long-term grazing influences of Chihuahuan Desert rangeland. Southwestern Naturalist 39:342-349.
24. Huenneke, L. F., D. Clason, and E. Muldavin. 2001. Spatial heterogeneity in Chihuahuan Desert vegetation: implications for sampling methods in semi-arid ecosystems. Journal of Arid Environments 47:257-270.
25. Huntly, N., and R. Inouye. 1988. Pocket gophers in ecosystems: patterns and mechanisms. BioScience 38:786-793.
26. Jackson, J. E. 1988. Terrestrial mammalian pests in Argentina-an overview. Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference 13:196-198.
27. Joern, A. 1982. Vegetation structure and microhabitat selection in grasshoppers. Southwestern Naturalist 27:197-209.
28. Jones, C. G., J. H. Lawton, and M. Shachak. 1994. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69:373-386.
29. Kareiva, P., S. Watts, R. McDonald, and T. Boucher. 2007. Domesticated nature: shaping landscapes and ecosystems for human welfare. Science 316:1866-1869.
30. Knapp, A. K., J. M. Blair, J. M. Briggs, S. L. Collins, D. C. Hartnett, and L. C. Johnson. 1999. The keystone role of bison in North American tallgrass prairie. BioScience 49:39-50.
31. Kotliar, N. B., B. J. Miller, R. P. Reading, and T. W. Clark. 2006. The prairie dog as a keystone species. Pages 53-64 in J. L. Hoogland, editor. Conservation of the black-tailed prairie dog: saving North America's western grasslands. Island Press, Washington, D. C., USA.
32. Krogh, S. N., M. S. Zeisset, E. Jackson, and W. Whitford. 2002. Presence/absence of a keystone species as an indicator of rangeland health. Journal of Arid Environments 50:513-519.
33. Lai, C. H., and A. T. Smith. 2003. Keystone status of plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae): effect of control on biodiversity of native birds. Biodiversity and Conservation 12:1901-1912.
34. Leibold, M. A. 1995. The niche concept revisited: mechanistic models and community context. Ecology 76:1371-1382.
35. McNaughton, S. J. 1984. Grazing lawns: animals in herds, plant form, and coevolution. American Naturalist 124:863-886.
36. Miller, B. J., R. P. Reading, D. E. Biggins, J. K. Detling, S. C. Forrest, J. L. Hoogland, J. Javersak, S. D. Miller, J. Proctor, and J. C. Truett. 2007. Prairie dogs: an ecological review and current biopolitics. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:2801-2810.
37. Mokotjomela, T., U. Schwaibold, and N. Pillay. 2009. Does the ice rat Otomys sloggetti robertsi contribute to habitat change in Lesotho? Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology 35:437-443.
38. Olofsson, J., S. Stark, and L. Oksanen. 2004. Reindeer influence on ecosystem processes in the tundra. Oikos 105:386-396.
39. O'Meilia, M. E., F. L. Knopf, and J. C. Lewis. 1982. Some consequences of competition between prairie dogs and beef cattle. Journal of Range Management 35:580-585.
40. Owen-Smith, N. 1987. The pivotal role of megaherbivores. Paleobiology 13:351-362.
41. Paulsen, H. A., and F. N. Ares. 1962. Grazing values and management of black grama and tobosa grasslands and associated shrub ranges of the Southwest. USDA Technical Bulletin 1270, Washington, D. C., USA.
42. Power, M. E., D. Tilman, J. A. Estes, B. A. Menge, W. J. Bond, L. S. Mills, J. Daily, C. Castilla, J. Lubchenco, and R. T. Paine. 1996. Challenges in the quest for keystones. BioScience 46:609-620.
43. Pringle, R. M. 2008. Elephants as agents of habitat creation for small vertebrates at the patch scale. Ecology 89:26-33.
44. Retzer, V. 2007. Forage competition between livestock and Mongolian Pika (Ochotona pallasi) in Southern Mongolian mountain steppes. Basic and Applied Ecology 8:147-157.
45. Ripple, W. J., and R. L. Beschta. 2007. Restoring Yellowstone's aspen with wolves. Biological Conservation 138:514-519.
46. Ritchie, M. E., and H. Olff. 1999. Herbivore diversity and plant dynamics: compensatory and additive effects. Pages 175-204 in H. Olff, V. K. Brown, and R. H. Drent, editors. Herbivores: between plants and predators. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
47. Russell, R. E., and J. K. Detling. 2003. Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and black-tailed prairie dogs (Sciuridae: Cynomys ludovicianus (Ord)): associations between two rangeland herbivores. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 76:578-587.
48. SAS Institute. 2005. SAS system for Microsoft Windows. SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA.
49. Schlesinger, W. H., J. F. Reynolds, G. L. Cunningham, L. F. Huenneke, W. M. Jarrell, R. A. Virginia, and W. G. Whitford. 1990. Biological feedbacks in global desertification. Science 247:1043-1048.
50. Smith, A. T., and M. J. Foggin. 1999. The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a keystone species for biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau. Animal Conservation 2:235-240.
51. Snell, G. P. 1985. Results of control of prairie dogs. Rangelands 7:30.
52. Suttie, J. M., S. G. Reynolds, and C. Batello, editors. 2005. Grasslands of the world. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
53. Towne, G. E., D. C. Hartnett, and R. C. Cochran. 2005. Vegetation trends in tallgrass prairie from bison and cattle grazing. Ecological Applications 15:1550-1559.
54. Valone, T. J., J. H. Brown, and C. L. Jacobi. 1995. Catastrophic decline of a desert rodent, Dipodomys spectabilis: insights from a long-term study. Journal of Mammalogy 76:428-436.
55. Van Staalduinen, M. A., H. During, and M. J. A. Werger. 2007. Impact of grazing regime on a Mongolian forest steppe. Applied Vegetation Science 10:299-306.
56. Waldram, M. S., W. J. Bond, and W. D. Stock. 2008. Ecological engineering by a mega-grazer: white rhino impacts on a South African savanna. Ecosystems 11:101-112.
57. Waser, P. M., and J. M. Ayers. 2003. Microhabitat use and population decline in banner-tailed kangaroo rats. Journal of Mammalogy 84:1031-1043.
58. Weltzin, J. F., S. Archer, and R. K. Heitschmidt. 1997. Smallmammal regulation of vegetation structure in a temperate savanna. Ecology 78:751-763.
59. Whicker, A. D., and J. K. Detling. 1988. Ecological consequences of prairie dog disturbances: prairie dogs alter grassland patch structure, nutrient cycling, and feeding-site selection by other herbivores. BioScience 38:778-785.
60. Whitford, W. G., and F. R. Kay. 1999. Biopeturbation by mammals in deserts: a review. Journal of Arid Environments 41:203-230.
61. Yoshihara, Y., T. Okuro, B. Buuveibaatar, J. Undarmaa, and K. Takeuchi. 2010. Complementary effects of disturbance by livestock and marmots on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation and soil in a Mongolian steppe ecosystem. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 135:155-159.
62. Zhang, Y., Z. Zhang, and J. Liu. 2003. Burrowing rodents as ecosystem engineers: the ecology and management of plateau zokors Myospalax fontanierii in alpine meadow ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau. Mammal Review 33:284-294.