Habitat Selection Experiments with a Pair of Coexisting Heteromyid Rodent Species

The kangaroo rat, Dipodomys merriami, occurs with the pocket mouse, Perognathus penicillatus, in stands of mesquite with little herbaceous cover. The dipo avoids areas that have thick cover between 8 cm and 45 cm. The pocket mouse prefers areas that have considerable cover over 45 cm. Those facts have been established both by previous studies and those reported here. This paper reports the results of altering the vegetation in small patches of land and observing concomitant changes in the land—use patterns of the rodents. The difference between the species appears to be crucial to their coexistence.