Vegetation habitats and small mammals in a plague endemic area in Western Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
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Date
2014-07
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tanzania Journal of Health Research
Abstract
Human plague still exists in different parts of the world, including some landscapes in north-
eastern Tanzania. Wherever the hotspot of plague, small mammals seem to play a key role as host. The
objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between vegetation habitats types and small
mammals in a plague endemic area of Lushoto District in Tanzania. A combination of field survey and
Landsat images was used to identify the vegetation habitats. Small mammals were trapped in the mapped
vegetation units, and identified. In total, six main types of vegetation habitats were investigated. A total of
13 small mammal species, potentially related to plague were trapped. Results show that annual cultivated
crops habitat accounted for 80% of Mastomys natalensis while natural forest accounted for 60% of Praomys
delectorum. These findings have shed new light on the diversity of rodents in different habitats of natural
and semi-natural vegetations, and agricultural crops in the study area, which is an important intermediate
step in unravelling the complex human plague system.
Description
Keywords
Plague, rodent distribution, vegetation, habitats, Tanzania