Scientists removed kangaroo rats from desert plots for 13 years, revealing how the rodents shape vegetation in the Chihuahuan Desert
- PC: Connor Long/WikipediaIn the Chihuahuan Desert, kangaroo rats play an important role in shaping vegetation.
- Between 1977 and 1990, researchers excluded three kangaroo rat species from experimental plots to see how their absence affected plants and other animals.
- The 13-year experiment found that two grasses became significantly more abundant in plots without the rodents that are the tall annual ‘Aristida adscensionis’ and the perennial bunchgrass Eragrostis lehmanniana.
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- PC: Connor Long/WikipediaIn the Chihuahuan Desert, kangaroo rats play an important role in shaping vegetation.
- Between 1977 and 1990, researchers excluded three kangaroo rat species from experimental plots to see how their absence affected plants and other animals.
- The 13-year experiment found that two grasses became significantly more abundant in plots without the rodents that are the tall annual ‘Aristida adscensionis’ and the perennial bunchgrass Eragrostis lehmanniana.
Sources: Times of India