Intercontinental-wide consequences of compromise-breaking adaptations: the case of desert rodents
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by Burt P. Kotler in
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Department of Biological Sciences (M/C066), University of Illinois at Chicago
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Desert rodent assemblages from around the world provide convergent, but independent crucibles for testing theory and deducing general ecological principles. The heteromyid rodents of North America and the gerbils of the Middle East and their predators provide such an example. Both sets of rodents face predation from owls and vipers, but the North American species possess unique traits that may represent macroevolutionary breakthroughs: rattlesnakes have infra-red sensitive sensory pits, and heteromyids have cheek pouches. To test their significance, we brought together two gerbils (Middle East), two heteromyid rodents (a kangaroo rat and a pocket mouse; North America) in a common setting (a vivarium in the Negev Desert), and quantified the “opinions” of the rodents towards the North American sidewinder rattlesnake and the Middle Eastern Saharan horned viper and the foraging behavior of each in the face of these snake predators plus owl predators. Gerbils are fairly evenly matched in their anti-predator abilities, while the heteromyids differ widely, and these seem to match well with and may determine the types of mechanisms of species coexistence that operate in the communities of each continent. Evolutionary history, macroevolutionary traits, and risk management therefore combine to determine the characteristics of the organisms and the organization of their communities.
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Intercontinental-wide consequences of compromise-breaking adaptations: the case of desert rodents
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by Burt P. Kotler in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Joel S. Brown in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Department of Biological Sciences (M/C066), University of Illinois at Chicago
Search for other papers by Sonny S. Bleicher in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Keren Embar in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Desert rodent assemblages from around the world provide convergent, but independent crucibles for testing theory and deducing general ecological principles. The heteromyid rodents of North America and the gerbils of the Middle East and their predators provide such an example. Both sets of rodents face predation from owls and vipers, but the North American species possess unique traits that may represent macroevolutionary breakthroughs: rattlesnakes have infra-red sensitive sensory pits, and heteromyids have cheek pouches. To test their significance, we brought together two gerbils (Middle East), two heteromyid rodents (a kangaroo rat and a pocket mouse; North America) in a common setting (a vivarium in the Negev Desert), and quantified the “opinions” of the rodents towards the North American sidewinder rattlesnake and the Middle Eastern Saharan horned viper and the foraging behavior of each in the face of these snake predators plus owl predators. Gerbils are fairly evenly matched in their anti-predator abilities, while the heteromyids differ widely, and these seem to match well with and may determine the types of mechanisms of species coexistence that operate in the communities of each continent. Evolutionary history, macroevolutionary traits, and risk management therefore combine to determine the characteristics of the organisms and the organization of their communities.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 657 | 81 | 18 |
| Full Text Views | 32 | 8 | 8 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 72 | 26 | 26 |
