Coefficients of digestibility and caloric diet of rodents in the northern Great Basin desert

Journal Article · Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1979 · J. Mammalogy; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1379820· OSTI ID:6947704

Schreiber, R K

In desert ecosystems small rodents are major components of the vertebrate fauna and they likely influence greatly the distribution and abundance of certain producers. In addition to the direct influence on producers, small mammals may also regulate the cycling of nutrients and the transfer of energy. In describing the flow of energy through a species, it is important to determine how effectively the species digests its diet and to quantify the caloric content of its natural diet. This study determined the digestibility coefficients and caloric diet of eight common species of rodents in the northern Great Basin desert. The species are: Great Basin pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus), deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis), Ord's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii), Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys microps), least chipmunk (Eutamias minimus), and Townsend's ground squirrel (Spermophilus townsendii).

• OSTI ID: 6947704
• Journal Information: J. Mammalogy; (United States), Vol. 60:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DIET
CALORIFIC VALUE
DIGESTION
GREAT BASIN
BASELINE ECOLOGY
RODENTS
ARID LANDS
CALCULATION METHODS
CHIPMUNKS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOOD
MICE
NUTRIENTS
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
ANIMALS
COMBUSTION PROPERTIES
DATA
ECOLOGY
INFORMATION
MAMMALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
USA
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES
510100* - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (-1989)