A Comparative Study of Biomass Dynamics of The Species Populations of The Desert Rodent Community in The Chihuahuan Desert of North America

Comparisons of biomass time series data on 17 species populations of the desert rodents inhabiting the experimental study site in the Chihuahuan Desert are presented.Time series analysis,Shannon index of evenness and seasonality index are used for assessing allocation patterns of the total community biomass among 17 species populations and the role of dispersal in the patterns.The results suggest that two dominant species,Dipodomys merriami and D.spectabilis,played significant role in stabling the community total biomass and other non-dominant species subsidized community biomass when biomass of the dominants was low.Dispersal,one of the conspicuous traits of life history of desert rodents,contributed to the patterns and played an important role in the coexistence of 17 species.