Species composition and community structure of small pest rodents (Muridae) in cultivated and fallow fields in maize‐growing areas in Mayuge district, Eastern Uganda
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Abstract
1. Pest rodents remain key biotic constraints to cereal crops production in the East African region where they occur, especially in seasons of outbreaks. Despite that, Uganda has scant information on rodents as crop pests to guide effective management strategies.
2. A capture–mark–recapture (CMR) technique was employed to study the ecology
of small rodents, specifically to establish the species composition and community
structure in a maize‐based agro ecosystem. Trapping of small rodents was conducted in permanent fallow land and cultivated fields, with each category replicated twice making four study grids. At each field, a 60 × 60 m grid was measured
and marked with permanent trapping points spaced at 10 × 10 m, making a total
of 49 trapping points/grids. Trapping was conducted monthly at 4‐week interval
for three consecutive days for two and half years using Sherman live traps.
3. Eleven identified small rodent species and one insectivorous small mammal were
recorded with Mastomys natalensis being the most dominant species (over 60.7%).
Other species were Mus triton (16.1%), Aethomys hendei (6.7%), Lemniscomys zebra
(5.2%), Lophuromys sikapusi (4.8%), Arvicanthis niloticus (0.9%), Gerbilliscus kempi
(0.1%), Graphiurus murinus (0.1%), Steatomys parvus (0.1%), Dasymys incomtus
(0.1%), and Grammomys dolichurus (0.1%). Spatially, species richness differed significantly (p = 0.0001) between the studied field habitats with significantly higher
richness in fallow land compared with cultivated fields.
4. Temporally, total species richness and abundance showed a significant interaction
effect over the months, years, and fields of trapping with significantly (p = 0.001)
higher abundances during months of wet seasons and in the first and third year
of trapping. In terms of community structure, higher species diversity associated
more with fallow field habitats but also with certain rare species found only in
cultivated fields.
5. Synthesis and applications. Based on these findings, management strategies can
be designed to target the key pest species and the most vulnerable habitats thus
reducing the impact they can inflict on field crops.
Description
Original Research
Keywords
Community structure, Composition, Cultivated fields, Fallow land, Richness, Rodents, Species diversity
Citation
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5371