Field tests of competitive interference for space among temperate-zone rodents

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Abstract
Within-habitat distributions of common rodent species in two temperate-zone small mammal faunas were analyzed by a series of interaction tests to evaluate the hypothesis that the distribution and abundance of these animals is determined by competitive interference for space. In the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Peromyscus maniculatus and Clethrionomys gapperi were independently distributed and there was no consistent relationship between the densities of the two species over a broad range of habitats. At Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, Peromyscus leucopus and Microtus pennsylvanicus distributions were also independent of one another, and again there was no relationship between the densities of these rodents across habitats. These field tests favour rejection of the hypothesis of competitive interference for space among temperate-zone small mammal species.