Body size, not phylogenetic relationship or residency, drives interspecific dominance in a little pocket mouse community

Abstract

The role of interspecific aggression in structuring ecological communities can be important to consider when reintroducing endangered species to areas of their historic range that are occupied by competitors. We sought to determine which species is the most serious interference competitor of the endangered Pacific pocket mouse, Perognathus longimembris pacificus, and more generally, whether interspecific aggression in rodents is predicted by body size, residency status or phylogenetic relatedness....