Abstract
Tree islands in the Everglades prairie provided a unique opportunity to study how patch dynamics affect population processes in two small mammal species, the marsh rice rat and hispid cotton rat. We assessed the effect of island size and water on density, survivorship, reproduction, and movement in both these species. Rice rats had the highest densities on the small islands, while survivorship and reproductive activity was not affected by island size. Cotton rats had the highest densities and reproductive activity on large islands, while survivorship and reproduction was not affected by island size In both species, the highest proportion of animals moved from small islands.
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Gaines, M.S., Sasso, C.R., Diffendorfer, J.E., Beck, H. (2002). Effects of Tree Island Size and Water on the Population Dynamics of Small Mammals in the Everglades. In: Sklar, F.H., Van Der Valk, A. (eds) Tree Islands of the Everglades. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0001-1_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0001-1_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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