Questions

The principal question is: What is the role of abiotic and biotic factors in controlling or affecting community components?

A secondary question is: How is the relative importance of biotic interactions among species affected by the background of prevailing abiotic control?

A final unifying question: How is global climatic change affecting this community and semiarid systems in general?

Putative effects of biotic/abiotic interactions on Phyllotis darwini (left) and Octodon degus (right)

Diagram of Putative Interactions

Putative interactions between predators (owls, foxes, top), major prey (Phyllotis darwini, left; Octodon degus, right), rainfall (Cl), ephemeral plants (Pl), and seeds (Se). Sign indicates direction of postulated effects. Self-regulation or population feedback indicated by circular arrows.