Switalski Aaron B, Bateman Heather L
College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, United States of America.
Cecil D. Andrus Wildlife Management Area, Idaho Department of Fish & Game, Cambridge, ID, United States of America.
PeerJ. 2017 Nov 10;5:e4003. doi: 10.7717/peerj.4003. eCollection 2017.
Anthropogenic water sources (AWS) are developed water sources used as a management tool for desert wildlife species. Studies documenting the effects of AWS are often focused on game species; whereas, the effects on non-target wildlife are less understood. We used live trapping techniques to investigate rodent abundance, biomass, and diversity metrics near AWS and paired control sites; we sampled vegetation to determine rodent-habitat associations in the Sauceda Mountains of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. A total of 370 individual mammals representing three genera and eight species were captured in 4,800 trap nights from winter 2011 to spring 2012. A multi-response permutation procedure was used to identify differences in small mammal community abundance and biomass by season and treatment. Rodent abundance, biomass, and richness were greater at AWS compared to control sites. Patterns of abundance and biomass were driven by the desert pocket mouse () which was the most common capture and two times more numerous at AWS compared to controls. Vegetation characteristics, explored using principal components analysis, were similar between AWS and controls. Two species that prefer vegetation structure, Bailey's pocket mouse () and white-throated woodrat (, had greater abundances and biomass near AWS and were associated with habitat having high cactus density. Although small mammals do not drink free-water, perhaps higher abundances of some species of desert rodents at AWS could be related to artificial structure associated with construction or other resources. Compared to the 30-year average of precipitation for the area, the period of our study occurred during a dry winter. During dry periods, perhaps AWS provide resources to rodents related to moisture.
人为水源（AWS）是作为沙漠野生动物物种管理工具而开发的水源。记录AWS影响的研究通常集中在猎物物种上；然而，对非目标野生动物的影响却知之甚少。我们使用活体诱捕技术调查了AWS附近和配对对照地点的啮齿动物数量、生物量和多样性指标；我们对植被进行了采样，以确定亚利桑那州索诺兰沙漠Sauceda山脉中啮齿动物与栖息地的关联。在2011年冬季至2012年春季的4800个诱捕夜中，共捕获了代表3个属和8个物种的370只个体哺乳动物。使用多响应置换程序来确定小型哺乳动物群落数量和生物量在季节和处理方式上的差异。与对照地点相比，AWS处的啮齿动物数量、生物量和丰富度更高。数量和生物量的模式是由沙漠口袋鼠（）驱动的，它是最常见的捕获物种，在AWS处的数量是对照地点的两倍。使用主成分分析探索的植被特征在AWS和对照地点之间相似。两种偏好植被结构的物种，贝利口袋鼠（）和白喉林鼠（），在AWS附近的数量和生物量更大，并且与仙人掌密度高的栖息地有关。尽管小型哺乳动物不饮用自由水，但AWS处某些沙漠啮齿动物物种数量较多可能与建设相关的人工结构或其他资源有关。与该地区30年的平均降水量相比，我们的研究期间处于一个干燥的冬季。在干旱时期，也许AWS为啮齿动物提供了与水分相关的资源。
