Species Composition, Relative Abundance, Distribution and Habitat Association of Rodents in Meklite Forest and Associated Areas, Ethiopia.
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Date
2009-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Data collection was carried out in Meklite Forest and associated area during August 2008 - March 2009. The main objective of the study was to assess the species composition, distribution, habitat association and relative abundance of rodents in the study area. Four habitats were selected, three from natural vegetation (forest, bushland, grassland) and one from the farmland (maize farm). Both Sharman live traps and snap traps were used in all data collection sessions. Altogether, 397 individuals were captured by live traps in 2352 trap nights and 68 individuals by snap traps in 1200 trap nights. A total of eight species of rodents and two species of insectivores were recorded. The rodent species identified with their relative abundance in the study area were Arvicanthis abyssinicus 165(41.6%) Stenocephalemys albipes 62(15.6%), Mus musculus 58(14.6%), Mastomys natalensis 47(11.8%), Lophuromys flavopunctatus 26(6.5%), Grammomys dolichurus 17(4.3%), Rattus rattus 7(1.8%) and Dendromus lovati 2(0.5%). The insectivore species were Crocidura flavescens 9(2.3%) and Crocidura fumosa 4(1.0%). More number of individuals was caught from the maize farm. The highest species richness and diversity were also observed in maize farms. Population size of rodents and insectivores was higher during the dry season than the wet season.
Key words /Phrases: Diversity; insectivores; Meklite forest; rodents;species richnes
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: Diversity; insectivores; Meklite forest; rodents;species richnes