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Seed Selection in Dipodomys Merriami and Perognathus Penicillatus
Author(s) -
Smigel Barbara W.,
Rosenzweig Michael L.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1935220
Subject(s) - sympatric speciation , biology , ecology , selection (genetic algorithm) , resource (disambiguation) , set (abstract data type) , key (lock) , computer science , artificial intelligence , computer network , programming language
Theories of resource allocation in sympatric heteromyids have often been based on the idea that body size is a key factor in determining the size of resource packages an animal takes. Considerable field data have supported this idea. In this study, however, two coexisting heteromyid species of different sizes are shown to be selecting the same set of seed sizes. These findings and other conflicting data show a need for a new theoretical basis for the correlation of body size with seed size in heteromyids. Both species tested take a more specialized diet at high seed densities than low. This supports the hypothesis that these seed eaters are in some sense adaptively, flexible selective. It also supports the notion that the selectivity is inversely proportional to the time required to find a seed.