Rodent Societies: An Ecological & Evolutionary Perspective

bers; and population dynamics in seasonal environments.
Desert, temperate, and boreal regions probably offer ro-
dents quite different risk regimes. Accumulation of com-
parative and experimental data from these regions allow us
a synthesis, which suggests that not only the direct effect of

predators on mortality, but also the indirect effects are es-

sential to an understanding of predator-prey interactions

that affect population growth and population and commu-

nity structure.

Fear and the Foraging, Breeding, and Sociality of Rodents 341

Figure 28.4 A sequence of hypotheses for factors that may lead to p-driven versus N-driven predator-prey dynamics

in rodents. Seed-eating desert rodents and boreal voles provide the models for each system, respectively. Solid arrows

represent positive relationships between factors, and dotted arrows indicate negative relationships. Bidirectional arrows

indicate feedback loops.