Competition in desert rodents: an experiment with semipermeable exclosures.

Larger species of seed-eating desert rodents were excluded from experimental plots while smaller, potentially competing species were allowed to enter. Density of small granivores on these plots increased to nearly 3.5 times that on control plots but only after 8 months. These results indicate that interspecific competition affects the abundance of desert rodents; they also support indirect evidence that competition for seeds influences the organization of desert rodent communities.