FREQUENCY DEPENDENT PREDATION ON WINTER ANNUAL SEEDS BY GRANIVOROUS RODENTS

Abstract

Positive frequency-dependent predation (FDP) has been proposed as a species coexistence mechanism and theoretical models have shown how it may function. In positive FDP a rare species receives a temporary reprieve from predation pressure allowing an increase to its population growth rate and a chance for it to recover from rarity. This study tests for frequency-dependent foraging by granivorous desert rodents on the seeds of three species of winter annual plants that grow in the Sonoran Desert. While the preference for one species is much higher than the other two, preferences for each species are higher when common than when rare showing an asymmetric form of positive FDP. This study is the first empirical test for positive FDP on winter annual plants and by granivorous desert rodents and one of few to use more than two prey species, native prey species, or asymmetrically preferred prey species.