Changes in rodent community during recovery from fire: relevance to conservation

Haim, Abraham; Izhaki, Ido

doi:10.1007/bf00114202

Cited by 45 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, in this study area the incidence of fire was very frequent which could have severe adverse effects on small mammal populations. In previous studies, fire was shown to lower the species diversity due to destruction of vast areas of their habitat and food resources, which could also lead to changes in the behavior (Haim and Izhaki, 1994;Clausnitzer, 2003). Similar effects might have contributed to the small mammal fauna of CCNP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species composition and abundance of small mammals in Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

Datiko¹

2013

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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In this study, we investigated species composition and abundance of small mammals (rodents and insectivores) in the recently established Chebera Churchura National Park, in Ethiopia between 2010 and 2011. Two study grids were established in seven selected habitats. In each grid, forty-nine Sherman live traps were used to capture the small mammals. A total of 704 individuals were captured in 5488 trap-nights. Among them, 682 (98.3%) were rodents and 12 (1.7%) were insectivores. These comprised 16 species of rodents and 2 species of insectivores. The captured species were: Mastomys natalensis, Mastomys erythroleucus, Lemniscomys striatus, Arvicanthis nilotiucs, Arvicanthis dembeensis, Acomys cahirinus, Rattus rattus, Mus musculus, Stenocephalemys albipes, Gerbilliscus robusta, Lophuromys flavopunctatus, Pelomys harringtoni, Mus tentellus, Crocidura fumosa and Crocidura flavescens. Tachyoryctes splendens, Xerus rutilus and Hystrix cristata were recorded as observed species. The abundance of species varied among habitats and between seasons. M. natalensis and L. striatus were the most abundant species, whereas C. flavescens was the least abundant. The age distribution and trap success of small mammals varied between seasons and among habitats. This study clearly shows that the park has a diverse fauna.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species composition and abundance of small mammals in Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

Datiko¹

2013

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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“…Brought to you by | MIT Libraries Authenticated Download Date | 5/12/18 10:13 PM Studies on post-fire recolonization by small mammals are relatively numerous in the Mediterranean Region (Arrizabalaga et al, 1993;Fons et al, 1988;Fuentes et al, 1998;Haim & Izhaki, 1994;Prodon et al, 1987;Torre & Díaz, 2004), but studies on post-fire recolonization of the small mammal helminths are relatively scarce (Feliu et al, 1993;Fuentes et al, 1998Fuentes et al, , 2005Fuentes et al, , 2007Torres et al, 1992). Parasites can be considered as biological tags for post-fire recolonization studies owing the close relationships with their hosts .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The helminth infracommunities of the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) two years after the fire in Mediterranean forests

et al. 2013

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SummaryParasites have been recognized as indicators for natural or man-induced environmental stress and perturbation. In this article, we investigated the role of two non-exclusive hypotheses on the response of helminths of wood mice to fire perturbation: 1) a reduction of the helminth infracommunity (species richness) in post-fire areas due to the temporal lack of worms with indirect (complex) life cycles linked to intermediate hosts that are more specialized than the final host, and 2) an increase of the abundance of helminths with direct (simple) life cycles as a response of increasing abundances of the final host, may be in stressful conditions linked to the post-fire recolonization process. We studied the helminth infracommunities of 97 wood mice in two recently burned plots (two years after the fire) and two control plots in Mediterranean forests of NE Spain. Species richness of helminths found in control plots (n = 14) was twice large than in burned ones (n = 7). Six helminth species were negatively affected by fire perturbation and were mainly or only found in unburned plots. Fire increased the homogeneity of helminth infracommunities, and burned plots were characterised by higher dominance, and higher parasitation intensity. We found a gradient of frequency of occurrence of helminth species according to life cycle complexity in burned areas, being more frequent monoxenous (66.6 %), than diheteroxenous (33.3 %) and triheteroxenous (0 %), confirming the utility of helminths as bioindicators for ecosystem perturbations. Despite the short period studied, our results pointed out an increase in the abundance and prevalence of some direct life cycle helminths in early postfire stages, whereas indirect life cycle helminths were almost absent. A mismatch between the final host (that showed a fast recovery shortly after the fire), and the intermediate hosts (that showed slow recoveries shortly after the fire), was responsible for the loss of half of the helminth species.

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“…During the dry season, the vegetation in the Mediterranean ecosystem is expected to have an increased particle (or osmotic) concentration owing to higher evaporation of water (Main, 1986;Haim & Izhaki, 1994;Grammatikipoulos, 1999). Therefore, animals such as A. cahirinus, which may depend upon vegetation as a water source, face an increasing osmotic load as the dry season progresses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential osmoregulatory capabilities of common spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) from adjacent microhabitats

et al. 2003

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The osmoregulatory function of common spiny mice Acomys cahirinus living on opposite slopes of the lower Nahal Oren ('Evolution Canyon') on mount Carmel, Israel, was investigated by increasing the salinity of the water source whilst maintaining a high-protein diet. The southern-facing slope (SFS) of this canyon differs from the northern-facing slope (NFS) as it receives considerably more solar radiation and consequently forms a more xeric, sparsely vegetated habitat. During the summer, mice living on the two opposite slopes significantly differed in their urine osmolality, which also increased significantly as dietary salinity increased. Offspring of wild-captured mice, born in captivity, and examined during the winter, continued to show a difference in osmoregulatory function depending on the slope of origin. However, they differed from wild-captured mice, as they did not respond to the increase in dietary salinity by increasing the concentration of their urine, but rather by increasing the volume of urine produced. This study shows that A. cahirinus occupying different microhabitats may exhibit differences in their ability to concentrate urine and thus in their ability to withstand xeric conditions. We suggest that they may also differ genetically, as offspring from the NFS and SFS retain physiological differences, but further studies will be needed to confirm this hypothesis.

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Changes in rodent community during recovery from fire: relevance to conservation

Cited by 45 publications

References 19 publications

Species composition and abundance of small mammals in Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

Species composition and abundance of small mammals in Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia

The helminth infracommunities of the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) two years after the fire in Mediterranean forests

Differential osmoregulatory capabilities of common spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) from adjacent microhabitats

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