Species abundance and diversity of rodents and shrews in different habitats and seasons in the northern sector of Selous game reserve, Tanzania
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Date
2015
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Species abundance and diversity of rodents and shrews were investigated in three different
habitats and seasons in the Northern sector of Selous Game Reserve from September 2014
to May 2015. A total of 163 individuals from eight genera (5 of rodents and 3 of shrews)
were captured in 1 323 trap nights using three different live traps. The abundance and
diversity varied significantly between habitats (pO.OOOOl and />=0.00007) and within
seasons-habitat interactions (p<0.00001 and p=0.0 1941) respectively. Riverine habitat had
the highest species abundance and diversity in dry and transition period, while wooded
grassland showed the least abundance and diversity. Seasonality had no major influence
on species abundance and diversity. Acomys sp. and Paraxerus flavovittis showed no
major fluctuations in abundance compared to other species. Acomys sp. breeding patterns
were not influenced by seasonal (rainfall) variation. Riverine forest and woodland had
higher community similarity of 55% while riverine forest and wooded grassland had 22%
dissimilarity. Therefore, this study concludes that, species abundance and diversity is
highly influenced by habitat type and seasonal variations especially associated with or
without rainfall. It is recommended that, a more intensive study in Selous Game Reserve
to cover an extensive area and habitats to get a greater representation on the abundance
and diversity of rodents and shrews found in the area.
Description
Masters Thesis
Keywords
Species, Rodents-Shrews, Habitats-seasons, Northen, Selous game reserve