Laboratory studies of seed size and seed species selection by heteromyid rodents

There have been conflicting reports in the last decade on the extent to which coexisting heteromyid rodent species select different sizes or species of seeds. Here I report results of laboratory choice experiments that show heteromyids of different size and genus to have similar preferences for wheat particles of various sizes, and for commercially available seed species that differ considerably in nutritional and morphological characteristics. I also discuss the significance of this finding for mechanisms of coexistence in natural communities.