Rodent abundance, diversity and community structure in a bubonic plague endemic area, northern Tanzania
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Date
2023-08-07
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
De Gruyter
Abstract
Rodent-borne diseases such as bubonic plague
remain a significant threat to public health in tropical
countries. In plague-endemic areas, little information exists
on the factors triggering periodic bursts, thus rendering
preparedness strategies for preventing the negative impacts
of the deadly zoonosis difficult. In this study, we assessed
how species richness, diversity, and community structure of
rodents are associated with plague persistence in Mbulu
District, Tanzania. Rodent data were collected using the
removal trapping technique. We captured 610 rodents
belonging to 12 species, with Mastomys natalensis recording
highest abundance. There was significantly higher abun-
dance and species richness in persistent than non-persistent
plague locality. Also, house premises recorded significantly
lower species richness than farm and forest habitats. Addi-
tionally, we found three broad rodent community structures
that varied significantly between studied habitat types sug-
gesting high rodent populations interaction at fine-scale resource abundance. The high abundance and diversity of
plague-susceptible rodent reservoirs suggestively contribute
to the plague persistence in the foci. These results may be
useful to developing preparedness strategies in these areas
to control plague outbreaks.
Description
Mammalia
Keywords
bubonic plague, Mbulu District, plague persis- tence, rodent abundance and diversity, Tanzania
Citation
https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2023-0012