Data from: Negative effects of an exotic grass invasion on small-mammal communities

Exotic invasive species can directly and indirectly influence natural
ecological communities. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is non-native to the
western United States and has invaded large areas of the Great Basin.
Changes to the structure and composition of plant communities invaded by
cheatgrass likely have effects at higher trophic levels. As a keystone
guild in North American deserts, granivorous small mammals drive and
maintain plant diversity. Our objective was to assess potential effects of
invasion by cheatgrass on small-mammal communities. We sampled
small-mammal and plant communities at 70 sites (Great Basin, Utah). We
assessed abundance and diversity of the small-mammal community, diversity
of the plant community, and the percentage of cheatgrass cover and shrub
species. Abundance and diversity of the small-mammal community decreased
with increasing abundance of cheatgrass. Similarly, cover of cheatgrass
remained a significant predictor of small-mammal abundance even after
accounting for the loss of the shrub layer and plant diversity, suggesting
that there are direct and indirect effects of cheatgrass. The change in
the small-mammal communities associated with invasion of cheatgrass likely
has effects through higher and lower trophic levels and has the potential
to cause major changes in ecosystem structure and function.