Download or read book The Effects of Large Herbivores on Small Mammal Communities written by Elliott Wentworth Reed Parsons and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Large herbivores are major drivers of community structure and function in many terrestrial systems. Through their direct effects on plants, large herbivores can influence the structure and complexity of habitats, the population abundance of animals that rely on those habitats, and the rates of ecosystem processes within those systems. These manifold impacts on systems are potentially magnifying, as removal of top predators and changes in land use have triggered large increases in large herbivore populations. Although increasing evidence suggests that large herbivores can critically shape the structure and function of the ecosystems they inhabit, few studies have detailed the direct and indirect effects of large herbivores on vegetation, animal populations, and ecosystem processes in the same system. Typically these varied impacts are studied in isolation and it is often unclear what the magnitude or sources of spatio-temporal variation in these effects might be. I used a large-scale replicated elk-exclusion experiment to determine the effects of elk on small mammal communities, plants, and ecosystem processes. I found that five years of elk exclusion led to noticeable changes in small mammal communities; some small mammals increased in the exclosure while others declined on controls. These changes were likely due to increasing habitat quality inside the fences and declining habitat quality outside. Elk browsing also decreased the recruitment of two dominant deciduous species and the quantity of litter of both of these species deposited on the forest floor during the peak in litterfall. Elk similarly reduced the cover of nitrogen fixing forb species, and the decomposition rates of both aspen and maple litter were more rapid inside the fences after 2 years of decomposition. These results indicate that elk are influencing the quantity and quality of litter inputs into this system as well as the decomposition environment. Finally, I found that mixtures of deciduous and evergreen litter influenced decomposition dynamics, the net mineralization of nitrogen, and plant growth. These results suggest that shifts in litter quantity and quality from browsing ungulates could have important indirect effects on plant growth. Overall, this work indicates that elk can have effects on multiple components of the community and ecosystem in only a short five year time period.
Download or read book Drivers of small mammal community structure in tropical savannas written by Bradley J. Bergstrom and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-06-06 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Large Herbivore Ecology Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation written by Kjell Danell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-25 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most large herbivores require some type of management within their habitats. Some populations of large herbivores are at the brink of extinction, some are under discussion for reintroduction, whilst others already occur in dense populations causing conflicts with other land use. Large herbivores are the major drivers for forming the shape and function of terrestrial ecosystems. This 2006 book addresses the scientifically based action plans to manage both the large herbivore populations and their habitats worldwide. It covers the processes by which large herbivores not only affect their environment (e.g. grazing) but are affected by it (e.g. nutrient cycling) and the management strategies required. Also discussed are new modeling techniques, which help assess integration processes in a landscape context, as well as assessing the consequences of new developments in the processes of conservation. This book will be essential reading for all involved in the management of both large herbivores and natural resources.
Download or read book The Effects of Mammalian Herbivores on Successional Grasslands in Central Illinois written by Carrie Elizabeth DeJaco and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I used exclosures that allowed access to different combinations of animals to assess the impact of mice, voles, rabbits, and deer in old fields of 3 successional stages. In addition, I conducted feeding trials to determine palatabilities of plants and seeds to the most abundant small mammal species (Peromyscus leucopus, Microtus ochrogaster, M. pennsylvanicus, and Sylvilagus floridanus) and related these data to those from the exclosure experiments. To determine the kinds and numbers of plants commonly dispersed by rabbits, I also collected and germinated plants from rabbit fecal pellets.
Download or read book Seed Fate written by J. E. Lambert and published by CABI. This book was released on 2005 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents current knowledge of seed fate in both natural and human-disturbed landscapes, from various regions of the world. Habitats considered range from mountain and arid deserts in the temperate zone, to savanna and lowland rainforests in tropical regions of the world. Particular attention is paid to plant diversity conservation when seed removal is affected by factors such as hunting, habitat fragmentation or intensive logging. Contributors include leading scientists involved in research on seed ecology and on animal-plant relationships from the perspective of both primary and secondary seed dispersal, and predation.
Download or read book Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes (e.g., water quality improvement), affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna"--Abstract.
Download or read book Habitat Selection in Birds written by Martin L. Cody and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 1987-07-09 with total page 579 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present book is divided into several parts. An introductory chapter serves to make the reader aware of the diversity of the subject of habitat selection in birds. Many if the various aspects of habitat selection introduced in the first chapter are developed in subsequent chapters, and thus it serves to some extent as an overview of the subject and as a "lead-in" to subsequent work.
Download or read book Ecological Interactions Between Small Mammals Large Mammals and Vegetation in a Tropical Savanna of Central Kenya written by Felicia Louise Keesing and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing written by Iain J. Gordon and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-09-14 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume investigates how large herbivores not only influence the structure and distribution of the vegetation, but also affect nutrient flows and the responses of associated fauna. The mechanisms and processes underlying the herbivores' behavior, distribution, movement and direct impact on the vegetation are discussed in detail. It is shown that an understanding of plant/animal interactions can inform the management of large herbivores to integrate production and conservation in terrestrial systems.
Download or read book Behavioral and physiological adaptations of mammals and birds to anthropogenic disturbances written by Dayong Li and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-08-31 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Mammalogy written by George A. Feldhamer and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 741 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fifth edition includes• for the first time, stunning color photographs throughout• chapters rearranged and grouped to best reflect phylogenetic relationships, with updated numbers of genera and species for each family• updated mammalian structural and functional adaptations, as well as ordinal fossil histories• recent advances in mammalian phylogeny, biogeography, social behavior, and ecology, with 12 new or revised cladograms reflecting current research findings• new breakout boxes on novel or unique aspects of mammals; new work on female post-copulatory mate choice, cooperative behaviors, group defense, and the role of the vomeronasal system• discussions of the current implications of climate change and other anthropogenic factors for mammalsMaintaining the accessible, readable style for which Feldhamer and his coauthors are well known, this new edition of Mammalogy is the authoritative textbook on this amazingly diverse class of vertebrates.
Download or read book The Influence of Edges and Plant Diversity on Mammal induced Mortality of Prairie Plants written by Anne M. Nickel and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Herbivory is an important process in plant communities because herbivores have the ability to affect plant abundance, productivity, composition, diversity, and succession. In the grassland ecosystem, the effects of small-mammal herbivores on the plant community are beginning to be understood, but there is little understanding about what factors may influence small-mammal herbivory patterns. This research investigated two factors, wooded edges and plant diversity, that may affect herbivory of native tallgrass prairie seedlings by the small-mammal Microtus pennsylvanicus (the meadow vole). The first study investigated the impact of wooded edges on meadow vole distributions in Iowa tallgrass prairie reconstructions, and their subsequent effect on native prairie vegetation. Voles were less abundant at the wooded edge, resulting in less herbivory on seedlings near the edge. These results indicate that the wooded edges of prairie reconstructions may be refuges for native seedling establishment. The second study investigated the relationship between plant diversity and meadow vole herbivory in native and reconstructed prairies. We found a negative relationship between diversity and herbivory, with decreased herbivory on seedlings as diversity increased. These results suggest that the foraging behavior of voles is not only influenced by diversity, but that diversity may be perpetuated via vole herbivory. In high-diversity prairies, herbivory per species is low, and plant diversity is maintained. However, herbivory per species is great in low-diversity prairies, resulting in the perpetuation, and perhaps accentuation, of low diversity. Together, these studies show that wooded edges and plant diversity have an effect on meadow vole herbivory patterns. Consequently, both of these factors have the potential to change the plant community by altering predation pressure on seedlings. Studying the way in which wooded edges and plant diversity influence vole herbivory has helped our understanding of how prairies function in fragmented ecosystems and how important plant diversity is to prairie ecosystems.
Download or read book Mammals written by Thomas Stainforth Kemp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relative newcomers within the story of evolution, mammals are hugely successful and have colonized land, water, and air. Tom Kemp discusses the great diversity of mammalian species, and looks at how their very disparate characteristics, physiologies, and behaviours are all largely driven by one uniting factor: endothermy, or warm-bloodedness.
Download or read book Conference Proceedings written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dynamics of Large Herbivore Populations in Changing Environments written by Norman Owen-Smith and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2010-02-22 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims to reconcile theoretical models of population dynamics with what is currently known about the population dynamics of large mammalian herbivores. It arose from a working group established at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to address the need for models that better accommodate environmental variability, especially for herbivores dependent on changing vegetation resources. The initial chapter reviews findings from definitive long-term studies of certain other ungulate populations, many based on individually identifiable animals. Other chapters cover climatic influences, emphasising temperate versus tropical contrasts, and demographic processes underlying population dynamics, more generally. There are new assessments of irruptive population dynamics, and of the consequences of landscape heterogeneity for herbivore populations. An initial review of candidate population models is followed up by a final chapter outlining how these models might be modified to better accommodate environmental variability. The contents provide a foundation for resolving problems of diminishing large mammal populations in Africa, over-abundant ungulate populations elsewhere, and general consequences of global change for biodiversity conservation. This book will serve as a definitive outline of what is currently known about the population dynamics of large herbivores.
Download or read book People and Wildlife Conflict or Co existence written by Rosie Woodroffe and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-08-25 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue in conservation. As people encroach into natural habitats, and as conservation efforts restore wildlife to areas where they may have been absent for generations, contact between people and wild animals is growing. Some species, even the beautiful and endangered, can have serious impacts on human lives and livelihoods. Tigers kill people, elephants destroy crops and African wild dogs devastate sheep herds left unattended. Historically, people have responded to these threats by killing wildlife wherever possible, and this has led to the endangerment of many species that are difficult neighbours. The urgent need to conserve such species, however, demands coexistence of people and endangered wildlife. This book presents a variety of solutions to human-wildlife conflicts, including novel and traditional farming practices, offsetting the costs of wildlife damage through hunting and tourism, and the development of local and national policies.
Download or read book Only in Africa written by Norman Owen-Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-10-07 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demonstrates how Africa's physical features, savannas and abundant grazers enabled frugivorous apes to become savanna-living hunters.
