scholarly journals An experimental study of spiders in a shrub-steppe ecosystem: the effects of prey availability and shrub architecture

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori R. Spears ◽  
James A. MacMahon
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Steppe Ecosystem

Exotic plant communities shift water-use timing in a shrub-steppe ecosystem

2006 ◽  
Vol 288 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 271-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kulmatiski ◽  
Karen H. Beard ◽  
John M. Stark
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Exotic Plant ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Steppe Ecosystem

Response of a shrub‐steppe ecosystem to fire: Soil water and vegetational change

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven O. Link ◽  
Glendon W. Gee ◽  
Michael E. Thiede ◽  
Peter A. Beedlow
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Vegetational Change ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Steppe Ecosystem

scholarly journals Diets of Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) Within a Shrub-Steppe Ecosystem

1988 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 782-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Rogers ◽  
N. E. Woodley ◽  
J. K. Sheldon ◽  
P. A. Beedlow
Keyword(s):  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Steppe Ecosystem ◽  
Darkling Beetles ◽  
Coleoptera Tenebrionidae

Carrion decomposition and nutrient cycling in a semiarid shrub–steppe ecosystem

2009 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Parmenter ◽  
James A. MacMahon
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Steppe Ecosystem ◽  
Carrion Decomposition

Spatial and seasonal dietary patterns of the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos): harvester ant specialist or generalist ant feeder?

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.A. Scott Newbold ◽  
James A. MacMahon
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Selection ◽  
Feeding Strategy ◽  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Feeding Specialization ◽  
Phrynosoma Platyrhinos ◽  
Horned Lizards ◽  
Specialist Predators

A suite of factors including prey availability and prey defenses influence prey selection by consumers and ultimately define an animal’s feeding strategy (e.g., generalist or specialist). Here we examined the relationship between availability and selection of ants by the desert horned lizard ( Phrynosoma platyrhinos Girard, 1852) to test the hypothesis that P. platyrhinos are specialist predators on harvester ants, and to investigate which factors influence the prey preference of lizards. Variation in ant availability and lizard diets was assessed using 83 plots established along a Great Basin shrub–steppe bajada in northwestern Utah, USA. Across the study site, 14 of 20 ant species were represented in the lizard diet. However, 70% of that diet consisted of just two species. In contrast to previous studies, P. platyrhinos did not show a disproportionate preference for harvester ants. Instead, larger ants of any species (including harvester ants) were preferentially selected over medium-sized and smaller ants. These findings suggest that desert horned lizards demonstrate an opportunistic feeding strategy in which lizards select ants based on their body size and abundance. More generally, these results emphasize the importance of assessing predator response across naturally varying gradients in prey availability to evaluate feeding specialization.

Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) foraging over native and vineyard habitats in British Columbia, Canada

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 816-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.A. Rambaldini ◽  
R.M. Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Optimal Foraging Theory ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Antrozous Pallidus ◽  
Shrub Steppe ◽  
Pallid Bats ◽  
Pallid Bat

Optimal foraging theory predicts organisms will forage in habitats providing the most profitable prey. Human alterations to ecosystems may affect predators’ foraging activity by changing landscape features, prey types, and prey availability. Assessing the selection of foraging habitats in a heterogeneous landscape can provide data to improve land management and conservation policies. In Canada, the pallid bat ( Antrozous pallidus (LeConte, 1856); Vespertilionidae) is listed as threatened partly because of loss or modification of shrub–steppe habitat. Our purpose was to determine if vineyards provide a suitable surrogate for foraging habitat relative to native habitat. We used pitfall traps to compare prey abundance in each habitat and analyzed faeces to assess diet composition. Over 24 nights, we surveyed both habitats for foraging bats. Bats foraged over vineyards, but we recorded significantly more foraging activity over native habitat. We collected over 2000 arthropods in pitfall traps and found significantly more in native habitat compared with vineyards. Species eaten by pallid bats were present in both habitats. Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabidae) and Jerusalem crickets (Orthopthera: Stenopelmatidae) represented the principal prey. The use of vineyards by pallid bats for foraging suggests that while they are adapting to a changing landscape, reduced prey abundance in vineyards may negatively affect them over the long term.

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