Small mammals of a woodland‐savannah ecosystem in Zimbabwe. I. Density and habitat occupancy patterns

Abstract

With 4 figures in the text)Population and habitat occupancy patterns of small mammals in five woodland-savannah habitats (riverine grassland, miombo, mopane, talus, thicket) were studied at Sengwa Wildlife Research Area in Zimbabwe between July 1992 and July 1993. The study was initiated following a drought year and extended over a year of average rainfall. Fourteen species of small mammals were recorded during mark-and-recapture live-trapping. Populations of most species were low during the 1992 cool dry and hot dry seasons, began increasing during the hot wet season, and attained peak densities during the 1993 cool dry season. The greatest amplitudes of density fluctuations were exhibited by the bush squirrel (Paraxerus cepupi) and the multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis). The numbers of habitats occupied by a single species ranged from one to four, although the inajority of captures for each species tended to occur in a single habitat. The habitats occupied by an individual species during the season of lowest density was always the same as the one in which it reached its highest density. Temporal variation in density was greatest in riverine grassland and least in talus. Overall low densities during this study may have resulted from a combination of drought and impacts of large mammals on small mammal habitats.

Small mammals distribution and diversity in a plague endemic area in West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

“…Similar observations have been reported by Linzey & Kesner (1997) in Kenya, South Africa, Angola, and Namibia. For example, the results from the current study show that small mammals found in both natural and plantation-forest include A. chrysophilus, G. dolichurus, L. kilonzoi, P. delectorum, Crocidura hirta, M. minutoides and X. erthropus.…”

Ecological correlates of small mammal assemblage structure at different spatial scales in the savannah biome of South Africa

“…The richness estimators indicated that the shrew inventories at both MGR and KYGR were 100% complete. By comparison, small mammal species richness at habitat and reserves scales were lower in other studies in the savannah biome (e.g., Linzey and Kesner 1997, Caro 1999, 2001, including the neighboring Phinda Private Game Reserve (Rautenbach et al 2014).…”

How important is the relationship between Protea humiflora (Proteaceae) and its non-flying mammal pollinators?

“…Aethomys captures were not affected by inflorescence removal, or the fecundity of P. humiflora bushes around each trap site. Rather, captures varied with breeding behaviour (Linzey and Kesner 1997;Fleming et al, unpublished data) as well as with bush density, probably reflecting simple preference for dense cover, P. humiflora being the dominant shrubby form at these sites. Aethomys juveniles enter the population months after peak flowering (Rebelo 2000); however, adults may be able to use floral resources to improve their body condition before breeding.…”