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Co-occurrence of small mammals in a tropical dry deciduous forest: comparisons of communities and individual species in Colima, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2011

Cassie J. Poindexter ,
Gary D. Schnell ,
Cornelio Sánchez-Hernández ,
María de Lourdes Romero-Almaraz ,
Michael L. Kennedy ,
Troy L. Best ,
Michael C. Wooten  and
Robert D. Owen
Cassie J. Poindexter
Affiliation:
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072, USA
Gary D. Schnell*
Affiliation:
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 2401 Chautauqua Avenue, Norman, OK 73072, USA
Cornelio Sánchez-Hernández
Affiliation:
Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70–153, Coyoacán, México, D.F. 04510, México
María de Lourdes Romero-Almaraz
Affiliation:
Escuinapa No.92 bis. Col. Pedregal de Santo Domingo, C.P. 04360, México, D.F., México
Michael L. Kennedy
Affiliation:
Ecological Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
Troy L. Best
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849, USA
Michael C. Wooten
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849, USA
Robert D. Owen
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA, and Martín Barrios 2230 c/ Pizarro, Barrio Republicano, Asunción, Paraguay
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

Species co-occurrence is an important ecological research area. Mark-and-recapture studies of mammals allow identification of coexisting species, a necessary step in determining mechanisms enabling habitat sharing. Using data from five 1-ha grids in January 2004 in tropical dry deciduous forest of coastal Colima, Mexico, we detected significantly more interspecific overlap than expected between seven species pairs. Oryzomys couesi shared more stations than expected with Sigmodon mascotensis, Baiomys musculus and Peromyscus perfulvus. Baiomys musculus was associated positively with S. mascotensis and Reithrodontomys fulvescens. Heteromys pictus shared fewer stations than expected with O. couesi and S. mascotensis. For species collectively, there was non-random community structuring, with two grids displaying more species aggregation than expected. While two grids had non-random co-occurrence patterns, three grids did not differ from random, which differs from that reported for mammalian taxa on average. Other small-mammal studies have documented species segregation, while this study detected more positive than negative associations. Similarities in preference and habitat use (or diet) are likely explanations for interspecific overlap patterns at stations and co-occurrence patterns among grids. Simultaneously evaluating associations of species pairs and all species on a grid collectively is novel methodology as applied to mammals, adding to understanding of species co-occurrence.

Keywords

mammalian communitiesmark-and-recapturenull-modelspatternspecies overlap
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 65 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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