Demography, reproductive biology and diet of the bushveld gerbil Tatera leucogaster (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in the Lake Rukwa valley, south-western Tanzania
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Date
2008
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing
Abstract
Seasonal abundance, reproductive biology and feeding ecology of the bushveld gerbil Tatera leucogaster (Peters,
1852) were investigated in small-scale maize field–fallow land mosaics in south-western Tanzania. The gerbils
were collected over a 2-year period using Sherman live and Victor hold-fast snap traps in permanent 4.5-ha grids. A
total of 664 individuals were captured over 13 650 trap nights, giving an overall trap success rate of 4.9%. Trap
success varied between seasons with and without crops in the field but not between habitat types. At this site, the
breeding activity of this species is seasonal. All individuals whose stomachs were analyzed ate a wide range of
items, indicating omnivory in this species at this site; however, seeds were the most preferred diet category, with a
mean contribution of 50.4%, followed by arthropods, with a mean contribution of 25.7%. Other plant materials
became important during the very dry periods.
Description
Integrative Zoology 2008; 3_31-37
Keywords
Feeding ecology, Reproduction, Seasonal abundance, Tatera leucogaster, Lake Rukwa valley, South-western Tanzania