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Inter-specific competitors reduce inter-gender competition in Negev Desert gerbils

  • Behavioural Ecology
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Abstract

We examined gender-dependent competitive interactions between two nocturnal desert gerbil species, Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi and G. pyramidum, by a field manipulation experiment. The study was done in two 1-ha enclosed plots and included allopatric (only G. a. allenbyi) and sympatric (both species together) treatments. Seed trays and thermal imaging cameras were used to observe the gerbils’ foraging activities and aggressive interactions. We found that the negative effect of the competitively dominant species, G. pyramidum, on time spent in seed trays, and ability to control these artificial food patches, was stronger on male than on female G. a. allenbyi. Consequently, the aggression of male G. a. allenbyi towards female G. a. allenbyi was markedly reduced, indicating that the dominant species mediated competition between the genders of the subordinate species. Furthermore, this interference-mediated indirect effect was associated with a decrease in the body mass of male G. a. allenbyi and an increase in the survival of female G. a. allenbyi. We suggest that both the reduction in intra-specific aggression and the positive effect on female survival can potentially stabilize competitive interactions and promote coexistence in this small mammal community.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Oswald Schmitz, David Skelly, Shimon Anisfeld, Heinrich zu Dohna, Catherine Burns, Andrew Richardson, Michael Booth, Erica Crespi and Mark Urban for discussions and comments on early drafts of this manuscript. Field research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation grant no. 169/95 to Z. A. and B. P. O. O. was supported by a Clore Scholarship (a project of the Charles Clore 1979 Israel Foundation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, 84105, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    Ofer Ovadia, Zvika Abramsky & Berry Pinshow

  2. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84990, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel

    Ofer Ovadia, Zvika Abramsky, Burt P. Kotler & Berry Pinshow

Authors
  1. Ofer Ovadia
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  2. Zvika Abramsky
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  3. Burt P. Kotler
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  4. Berry Pinshow
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Correspondence to Ofer Ovadia.

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Ovadia, O., Abramsky, Z., Kotler, B.P. et al. Inter-specific competitors reduce inter-gender competition in Negev Desert gerbils. Oecologia 142, 480–488 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1726-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1726-9

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