ibclogo XVI International Botanical Congess


Abstract Number: 2796
Poster No. = 1228


THE BENEFITS OF A METICULOUS FOOD CACHE IN THE BANNER-TAILED KANGAROO RAT(_DIPODOMYS SPECTABILIS_)


Herrera, J. Div. of Science, Truman State U., Kirksville, MO 63501 U.S.A.


Banner-tailed kangaroo rats in NM store large volumes of developing _Sporobolous cryptandrus_ seeds in stem sections (seed sticks) still enveloped by a leaf sheath and arrange them vertically in bundles nestled within cul-de-sacs in their dens. Vertically-stored simulated seed sticks containing millet seeds contained fewer fungal species compared with millet seeds stored in other configurations. Though alpha diversity of fungal species within the millet seed sticks remained stable, beta similarity indices show that more layering or seed separation decreases the similarity among fungal communities. Our data indicates that microfungal diversity seems unrelated to the number of layers protecting seeds, but that the number of layers protecting the seeds restricts fungal communities from being homogenized by microbial vectors.


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