In the Chihuahuan Desert, kangaroo rats play an important role in shaping vegetation. Between 1977 and 1990, researchers excluded three kangaroo rat species from experimental plots to see how their absence affected plants and other animals. The 13-year experiment found that two grasses became significantly more abundant in plots without the rodents that are the tall annual ‘Aristida adscensionis’ and the perennial bunchgrass Eragrostis lehmanniana. According to the research published in Oecologia titled ‘ Effects of kangaroo rat exclusion on vegetation structure and plant species diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert, ’ researchers indicated that reduced soil disturbance and lower predation on large seeds may have contributed to the increase in grasses.
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