Diversity, relative abundance and habitat association of rodents in Aquatimo forest patches and adjacent farmland, East Gojjam, Ethiopia
Keywords:
Insectivores, Rodents, Sherman live traps, Snap traps, Species richness
Abstract
Species diversity, relative abundance and habitat association of rodents in Aquatimo forest patches and its adjacent farmlands were studied using Sherman live traps and snap traps. Four habitat types such as forest, bushland, grassland and farmland were considered for the present study. A total of 49 Sherman traps and 25 snap traps were used for the study, and 316 individuals were captured by live traps in 2352 trap nights, and 58 individuals by snap traps in 1200 trap nights. Eight species of rodents and two species of insectivores were recorded during the study period. The relative abundance of rodent species identified were 132(41.8%) Arvicanthis abyssinicus, 49(15.5%) Stenocephalemys albipes, 46(14.6%) Mus musculus, 39(12.3%) Mastomys natalensis, 20(6.3%) Lophuromys flavopunctatus, 13(4.1%) Grammomys dolichurus, 7(2.2%) Rattus rattus, and 5(1.9%) Dendromus lovati. The insectivore species were 3(0.9%) Crocidura flavescens and 2(0.5%) Crocidura fumosa. The maize farm was found to be the habitat where species richness and relative abundance were the highest. Trap success in the grassland habitat differs significantly between the wet and dry seasons (χ2=29.6, p<0.05). The distribution of rodent species varied based on habitats. This study about the ecology and biology of rodents is fundamental for proper monitoring of the environment in order to control and conserve small mammals.
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References
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Sillero-Zubiri, C. and Gottelli, D. (1995). Diet and feeding behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). J. Mammal. 76: 531–541.
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Tadesse Habtamu and Afework Bekele (2008). Habitat association of insectivores and rodents of Alatish National Park, northwestern Ethiopia. Trop. Ecol. 49: 1–11.
Taylor, D.K. and Green, G.M. (1976). The influence of rainfall on diet and reproduction in four African rodent species. J. Zool. Lond. 180: 367–389.
Tesfaye Hundessa (1997). Major causes for the loss of wildlife resource in Ethiopia. Walia 18: 3–6.
Tilaye Wube (2005). Reproductive rhythm of the grass rat, Arvicanthis abyssinicus, at the Entoto Mountain, Ethiopia. Belg. J. Zool. 135: 53–56.
Tsegaye Gadisa and Afework Bekele (2006). Population dynamics of pest rodents of
Bilalo area, Arsi, Ethiopia. Ethiop. J. Biol. Sci. 5: 63–74.
Vaughan, A.T., Ryan, M.J. and Czaplewaki, N. (2000). Mammalogy. 4th edn. Saunders College Publishing, New York.
Wolff, J.O. (2007). Social biology of rodents. Integr. Zool. 2: 193–204.
Yalden, D.W. (1988). Small mammals of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Afr. J. Ecol. 26: 281–294.
Yalden, D.W. and Largen, M.J. (1992). The endemic mammals of Ethiopia. Mammal Rev. 22: 115–150.
Yalden, D.W., Largen, M.J. and Kock, D. (1976). Catalogue of the mammals of Ethiopia. Insectivora and Rodentia. Mon. Zool. Ital. Suppl. 8: 1–118.
Afework Bekele (1996). Population dynamics of the Ethiopian endemic rodent Praomys albipes in the Menagesha State Forest. J. Zool. Lond. 238: 1–12.
Afework Bekele and Corti, M. (1997). Forest blocks and altitude as indicator of Myomys albipes (Rüpell 1842) (Mammalia: Rodentia) distribution in Ethiopia. Trop. Zool. 10: 287–293.
Afework Bekele and Leirs, H. (1997). Population ecology of rodents of maize fields and grassland in Central Ethiopia. Belg. J. Zool. 127: 39–48.
Afework Bekele, Leirs, H. and Verhagen, R. (2003). Composition of rodents and damage estimates on maize farms at Ziway, Ethiopia. In: Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management, pp. 262–263 (Singleton, G.R., Hinds, L.A., Krebs, C.J. and Spratt, D.M., eds.). Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.
Afework Bekele and Yalden, D.W. (2013). Mammals of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Addis Ababa University Press, Addis Ababa.
Avenant, N.L. and Cavallini, P. (2008). Correlating rodent community structure with ecological integrity, Tussen-die-Riviere Nature Reserve, Free State Province, South Africa. Integr. Zool. 2: 212–219.
Clausnitzer, V. and Kityo, R. (2001). Altitudinal distribution of rodents (Muridae and Gliridae) on Mt. Elgon, Uganda. Trop. Zool. 14: 95–118.
Clout, M.N. and Russell, J.C. (2004). Modeling the distribution and interaction of introduced rodents in New Zealand offshore islands. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 13: 494–507.
Danell, K. and Aave-Olsson, B. (2002). Endemic mammalian genera: Are they really unique? J. Biogeogr. 29: 457–464.
Davies, G. (2002). African Forest Biodiversity: A Field Survey Manual for Vertebrates. Earth Watch, Cambridge.
Delany, M.J. (1986). Ecology of small rodents in Africa. Mammal Rev. 16: 1–41.
Demeke Datiko, Afework Bekele and Gurja Belay (2007). Species composition, distribution and habitat association of rodents from Arbaminch forest and farmlands, Ethiopia. Afr. J. Ecol. 45: 65–657.
Fiedler, L.A. (1994). Rodent Pest Management in East Africa. Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome.
Fitzgibbon, C.D. (1997). Small mammals in farm woodlands: the effects of habitat, isolation and surrounding land use patterns. J. Appl. Ecol. 34: 530–539.
Ghobrial, L.I. and Hodieb, A.S.K. (1982). Seasonal variations in the breeding of the Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus). Mammalia 46: 319–333.
Goodyear, J.J. (1976). Population Fluctuations of the Rat-like Rodents of Importance in Agricultural Fields in Kaffa Province, Ethiopia. M.A. Thesis, University of Bowling.
Happold, D.C.D. and Happold, M. (1989). Biogeography of montane small mammals in Malawi, Central Africa. J. Biogeogr. 16: 353–367.
Hoffmann, A. and Zeller, U. (2005). Influence of variations in land use intensity on species diversity and abundance of small mammals in the Nama Karoo, Namibia. Belg. J. Zool. 135: 91–96.
Kerley, G.I.H., Whitford, W.G. and Kay, F.R. (2004). Effects of pocket gophers on desert soils and vegetation. J. Arid Environ. 58: 155–166.
Kingdon, J. (1997).The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press, San Diego.
Leirs, H., Verhagen, R., Verheyen, W., Mwanjabe, P. and Mbise, T. (1996). Forecasting rodent outbreaks in Africa: An ecological basis for Mastomys control in Tanzania. J. Appl. Ecol. 33: 937–943.
Leirs, S.A., Leslie, D.M.J.R., Engle, D.M. and Fehmi, J.S. (2008). Small mammals as indicators of short-term and long-term disturbance in mixed prairie. Environ. Monit. Assess. 137: 75–84.
Lentic, M. and Dickman, C.R. (2005). The responses of small mammals to patches regenerating after fire and rainfall in the Simpson Desert, Central Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 30: 24–39.
Linzey, A.V. and Kesner, M.H. (1997). Small mammals of a woodland savannah ecosystem in Zimbabwe. Density and habitat occupancy patterns. J. Zool. Lond. 243: 137–152.
Makundi, R.H., Massawe, A.W. and Mulungu, L.S. (2005). Rodent population fluctuations in three ecologically heterogeneous locations in northeast, central and southwest Tanzania. Belg. J. Zool. 135: 159–165.
Malcolm, J.R. and Sillero-Zubiri, C. (1997). The Ethiopian wolf distribution and population status. In: Ethiopian Wolf Status Survey and Conservation Plan, (Sillero-Zubiri, C. and Macdonald, D., eds.). International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Gland.
Manyingerew Shenkut, Assefa Mebrate and Balakrishnan, M. (2006). Distribution and abundance of rodents in farmlands: A case study in Alleltu woreda, Ethiopia. SINET: Ethiop. J. Sci. 29: 63–70.
Mukherjee, S., Goyal, S.P., Johnsingh, A.J.T. and Pitman, L.M..R.P. (2004). The importance of rodents in the diet of jungle cat (Felis chaus), caracal (Caracal caracal) and golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. J. Zool. Lond. 262: 405–411.
Nowak, R.M. (1999). Walker’s Mammals of the World. Vol. II. 6th edn. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Odhiambo, C.O. and Oguge, N.O. (2003). Patterns of rodent pest distribution in maize cropping system in the Kenyan Rift Valley. In: Rats, Mice and People: Rodent Biology and Management (Singleton, G.R., Hinds, L.A., Krebs, C.J. and Spratt, D.M., eds.). Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.
Shannon, C.E and Weaver, N. (1949). The Mathematical Theory of Communication. The University of Illinios, Urbana.
Sillero-Zubiri, C. and Gottelli, D. (1995). Diet and feeding behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). J. Mammal. 76: 531–541.
Singleton, G.R. (2001). Rodent Impacts on Rice Production in Asia. International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos.
Singleton, G.R., Brown, P.R., Jacob, J., Aplin, K.P. and Sudarma, J.I. (2007). Unwanted and unintended effect of culling: Case for ecologically based rodent management. Integr. Zool. 2: 247–259.
Stenseth, N.C., Leirs, H., Mercelis, S. and Mwanjabe, P. (2001). Comparing strategies for controlling an African pest rodent: An empirically based theoretical study. J. Appl. Ecol. 38: 1020–1031.
Tadesse Habtamu and Afework Bekele (2008). Habitat association of insectivores and rodents of Alatish National Park, northwestern Ethiopia. Trop. Ecol. 49: 1–11.
Taylor, D.K. and Green, G.M. (1976). The influence of rainfall on diet and reproduction in four African rodent species. J. Zool. Lond. 180: 367–389.
Tesfaye Hundessa (1997). Major causes for the loss of wildlife resource in Ethiopia. Walia 18: 3–6.
Tilaye Wube (2005). Reproductive rhythm of the grass rat, Arvicanthis abyssinicus, at the Entoto Mountain, Ethiopia. Belg. J. Zool. 135: 53–56.
Tsegaye Gadisa and Afework Bekele (2006). Population dynamics of pest rodents of
Bilalo area, Arsi, Ethiopia. Ethiop. J. Biol. Sci. 5: 63–74.
Vaughan, A.T., Ryan, M.J. and Czaplewaki, N. (2000). Mammalogy. 4th edn. Saunders College Publishing, New York.
Wolff, J.O. (2007). Social biology of rodents. Integr. Zool. 2: 193–204.
Yalden, D.W. (1988). Small mammals of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Afr. J. Ecol. 26: 281–294.
Yalden, D.W. and Largen, M.J. (1992). The endemic mammals of Ethiopia. Mammal Rev. 22: 115–150.
Yalden, D.W., Largen, M.J. and Kock, D. (1976). Catalogue of the mammals of Ethiopia. Insectivora and Rodentia. Mon. Zool. Ital. Suppl. 8: 1–118.
Published
2015-12-01
Section
Articles