Citation. Behrend, A. F.; Tester, J. R. 1988. Feeding ecology of the plains pocket gopher in east central Minnesota. Prairie Naturalist 20(2):99-107.   [1011  LTER]

Abstract. Feeding experiments performed on plains pocket gophers, a major herbivore in grasslands, indicated that gophers do not forage in response to plant nitrogen status or tissue water status, but do feed preferentially in areas with high plant density. Gophers preferred early successional species over later successional species in all experiments and grasses over forbs in two of three experiments. Pocket gophers are a major herbivore in many habitats in North America. Their activities have been reported to influence nutrient cycling, plant productivity, and distribution of plant species (Andersen and MacMahon 1981, Grant and McBrayer 1981), as well as the rate and pattern of secondary succession. Gophers affect plants through disturbance of soil and herbivory. Densities of mounds produced by the plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, in abandoned fields on the Cedar Creek Natural History Area in east central Minnesota (Inouye et al. 1987b) indicated that gophers were more common in early successional stages than in later stages. Soil texture and structure were similar in the different successional stages (Grigal et al. 1973), but soil nitrogen increased with field age (Inouye et al. 1987a). We hypothesized that quality and quantity of vegetation, as determined primarily by soil nitrogen, were the most important factors influencing gopher distribution and abundance in this sere. This paper presents data on food habits of pocket gophers at Cedar Creek, on the preference of captive gophers for plant species from various successional stages, and on the foraging response of captive gophers to plant density. The results are considered with reference to the role of pocket gophers in the successional process in old fields at Cedar Creek.

Keywords. gopher, Cedar Creek, Geomys bursarius