Ecological correlates of population abundance of a pest small mammal species (mastomys natalensis) inhabiting a protected area-farmland landscape in western Serengeti, Tanzania
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation
Abstract
There is growing recognition of the negative
impacts pest mammal species have on food
security and the human health. Strategies to
reduce these impacts could benefit from
results of association of population of the
pests to ecological aspects. We assessed how
environmental and habitat attributes were
associated population abundance of
Mastomys natelensis in a landscape
interspaced with farmland and protected
areas in Western Serengeti. Rodents were
trapped through Capture-Mark-Release
method between April, 2020 and March,
2021 and estimated density of M. natalensis
using the Minimum Number of Animals
Known to be Alive (MNA) method. We
found density to be significantly higher
during dry season and in active farmlands;
Both active farmlands and areas with sandy-
clay-loam soils were strongly positively
associated with higher abundance perhaps
because of the increased species activity
patterns during searching for food and
favourable nesting soils thereby exposing the
rodents to the traps. Also, the density tended
to be significantly lower in areas with high
plant species richness probably because M.natalensis is a pestrous species often in high
abundance in areas cleared of vegetation for
agricultural activities. These results provide
useful inputs towards control strategies to
reduce impacts associated with these pests in
the rural landscapes.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Minimum number known alive, Serengeti, Pest species, Population abundance, Rodents, Soil texture