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NITROGEN OUTPUTS FROM FECAL AND URINE DEPOSITION OF SMALL MAMMALS: IMPLICATIONS FOR NITROGEN CYCLING
Citation:
Clark, J. E., J. L. Parsons, E. C. Hellgren, E E. Jorgensen*, D. M. Engle, AND D. Leslie. NITROGEN OUTPUTS FROM FECAL AND URINE DEPOSITION OF SMALL MAMMALS: IMPLICATIONS FOR NITROGEN CYCLING. OECOLOGIA. Springer, New York, NY, 144(3):447-455, (2005).
Description:
The contribution of small mammals to nitrogen cycling is poorly understood, but it could have reverberations back to the producer community by maintaining or perhaps magnifying nitrogen availability. Our objective was to model nitrogen outputs (deposition of feces and urine) of small mammals in an old-field ecosystem and estimate the amount of fecal and urinary nitrogen deposited annually. To address this objective, we used models from laboratory studies combined with data from field studies to estimate dietary nitrogen and monthly and annual nitrogen outputs from fecal and urine deposition of 5 rodent species. The models accounted for monthly fluctuations in density and biomass of small-mammal populations. We estimated that the minimal amount of nitrogen deposited by rodents was 1.0 (0.91.1) and 2.7 (2.62.9) kg Nha-1 year-1 from feces and urine, respectively, for a total contribution of 3.7 (3.54.0) kg Nha-1 year-1. Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) accounted for >75% of the total nitrogen outputs by small mammals. Our estimates of annual fecal and urinary nitrogen deposited by rodents were comparable to nitrogen deposits by larger herbivores and other nitrogen fluxes in grassland ecosystems and should be considered when assessing the potential effects of herbivory on terrestrial nitrogen cycles.