Are small rodents key promoters of ecosystem restoration in harsh environments? A case study of abandoned croplands on Mongolian grasslands

Yoshihara, Yu; Okuro, Toshiya; Jamsran, Undarmaa; Sasaki, Takehiro; Takeuchi, Kazuhiko

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.09.017

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Like in the other burrow-dwelling ecosystem engineers (Jones et al 1994), its complex burrows and their mounds persist for hundreds of years and, if active, provide habitats for numerous animal and plant species and refuges for other rodents, including voles and gerbils (Okulova 2003). The ecosystem engineers have strong effect on soil properties and vegetation (Kuznetsova 2013), and their loss can have severe consequences for rangeland ecosystem functioning with decreasing seed dispersal, altering soil nutrients and microbial, plant and animal communities (Brown & Heske 1990;Heske et al 1993, Dickman 1999Ernest & Brown 2001;Yoshihara et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rodents are essential components of rangeland ecosystems and readily respond to the variation in grazing impact (Hoffmann & Zeller 2005). They play an important functional role in rangelands not only through trophic interactions as herbivores and prey (Kotler 1984;Brown & Heske 1990;Weltzin et al 1997) but also through the engineering of extensive burrow systems, which affects soil properties and vegetation, modifies landscape, provides habitats for many species, and can even influence climate (Dickman 1999;Davidson & Lightfoot 2008;Yoshihara 2009;Wheeler & Hik 2013;Haussmann 2017). In addition, rodents are natural reservoir hosts of numerous zoonotic diseases and maintain the circulation of parasites and pathogens in nature (Meerburg et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rodent burrow network dynamics under human‐induced landscape transformation from desert to steppe in Kalmykian rangelands

Surkova

Popov

Tchabovsky

2019

Integrative Zoology

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Rodents play an important role in rangelands through the engineering of extensive burrow systems, which provides key habitats for many animal and plant species. We have analyzed the long‐term variation in the abundance and distribution of rodent burrows in grazing ecosystems of southern Russia (Kalmykia) under the landscape change from desert to steppe caused by the drastic reduction of livestock after the collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s. We conducted burrow surveys in the “desert” (1980) and “steppe” (2017) periods on 19 3‐km transects. We found considerable changes in burrow abundance and distribution, as well as evidence of desert habitat fragmentation and isolation caused by the expansion of tall‐grass communities. Burrows of the open‐dwelling diurnal ground squirrel (Spermophilus pygmaeus), the dominant and the keystone species during the “desert” period, almost completely disappeared from the rodent burrow network by 2017, indicating significant habitat loss. In contrast, the burrows of the folivorous social vole (Microtus socialis) which was rare in the 1980s, became abundant and ubiquitously distributed. The burrow density of the desert‐dwelling psammophilous midday gerbil (Meriones meridianus) decreased, while the distances between occupied patches increased, indicating desert habitat fragmentation and loss of population connectivity. Burrows of the folivorous tamarisk gerbils (M. tamariscinus) were recorded only sporadically in both 1980 and 2017. The observed changes in the rodent burrow network, the key component of grazing ecosystems, correlate with rodent species ecology and can have long‐term and important consequences for ecosystem functioning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rodent burrow network dynamics under human‐induced landscape transformation from desert to steppe in Kalmykian rangelands

Surkova

Popov

Tchabovsky

2019

Integrative Zoology

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“…In abandoned cropland in Mongolia, where soil crusts prevented regrowth of vegetation, burrows of Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) and possibly Brandt voles (Microtus brandti) and hamsters (Phodopus spp.) contributed to vegetation regrowth (Yoshihara et al, 2009). In some arid areas in Australia, loss of vegetation, soil crust formation and erosion has been profound; this has been linked to loss of burrowing animals (Martin, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between soil biota and the effects on geomorphological features

Zaitlin

Hayashi

2012

Geomorphology

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“…However, the crop type was not relevant in the variation of the prevalence patterns analyzed. In other tick surveys, vegetation factors such as tree cover, the proximity of shrubby vegetation and the presence of natural or semi-natural habitats have been found as significant for ticks (51,53,54). However, in these highly intensified agro-ecosystems, those habitats are anecdotal.…”

Section: Variation Of Tick Prevalence According To Crop Type Host Sex...mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Rodents have also been linked to higher vertebrate, invertebrate and plant species richness in the ecosystems they inhabit (51). Additionally, some herbivorous rodents are essential pioneer species facilitating the recovery of abandoned and degraded habitats and post-fire ecosystems through their seed dispersal activity (53)(54)(55).…”

Section: Rodents and Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and public health: rodents as reservoirs of zoonoses in the farmland of northwestern Spain

Herrero Cofreces

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Zoonoses are a concerning issue for public health and the last pandemic event caused by covid-19 is a good example of it. Human activity is enhancing the transmission, intensity and emergence of practically all zoonoses. Synantropic qualities of some rodent species provide them with exceptional features as amplifiers of emerging zoonoses. Vectors are also important elements transmitting the circulation and maintenance of F. tularensis. Fluctuating population dynamics of M. arvalis and seasonality can affect the dynamic of vectors and pathogens. High-density periods of M. arvalis (outbreak years and summer) favored the circulation of viruses and bacteria, and increased the abundance of fleas, potentially also increasing the zoonotic risk for human populations. The infestation levels by ticks and gastrointestinal helminths were higher during the crash phase of the vole cycle.These and other pathogens could contribute to the maintenance of a low vole population phase, by limiting and delaying the recovery of the vole population after a crash. This thesis contributed new knowledge of the circulation of zoonotic pathogens and vectors in this farming system, with public health implications. Of particular importance are the roles that vole outbreaks play as an amplifier and spill-over agent of zoonotic diseases; the need to consider new viruses (in particular, hantavirus) in public health surveillance; and the usefulness of community-based monitoring of pathogen circulation, maintenance and transmission to improve prevention.

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Are small rodents key promoters of ecosystem restoration in harsh environments? A case study of abandoned croplands on Mongolian grasslands

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

Rodent burrow network dynamics under human‐induced landscape transformation from desert to steppe in Kalmykian rangelands

Rodent burrow network dynamics under human‐induced landscape transformation from desert to steppe in Kalmykian rangelands

Interactions between soil biota and the effects on geomorphological features

Ecology and public health: rodents as reservoirs of zoonoses in the farmland of northwestern Spain

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