The Effects of Distance From a Yellow-Bellied Marmot Burrow on Plant Diversity
Abstract
Mammal mounds have been found to have diverse effects on vegetation. The area around yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) burrows was examined for different morphospecies and plant cover to find if diversity decreased near a burrow. Morphospecies were identified to family to look for trends in species composition. The number of morphospecies was found to decrease nearer to a burrow and plant cover was significantly lower immediately next to a burrow. Of the 13 plant families found, the number of morphospecies within Poaceae and Fabaceae experienced a moderately significant decrease near the burrow, and Asteracae experienced a significant decrease. This may be due to herbivory or because marmots like to excavate burrows where plants with more structural support grow to help maintain the solidarity of the burrow.
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References (10)
2 in Knowledge Hub, 8 external