Long-term studies of small mammal communities in arid and semiarid environments

Abstract

Desert rodent communities are model systems for understanding the effects of environmental severity and pulsed resources on community assembly, structure, and dynamics; however, the unique characteristics of arid ecosystems require long-term studies to reveal patterns and underlying mechanisms. The 3 papers in this Special Feature demonstrate the novel insights that can be gained from long-term (>10 years) ecological research on desert rodent communities. © 2010 American Society of Mammalogists.