The black-tailed tree rat, Thallomys nigricauda, is one of the few arboreal rodents inhabiting the southern African savannahs. During three field campaigns in 2001 and 2002 we collected data on the biology and ecology of T. nigricauda in the Thornveld savannah of the Molopo Nature Reserve (NW Province, South Africa). T. nigricauda lives a solitarily lifestyle in the Molopo Nature Reserve. Diet analyses shows that they are folivorous, specializing on leaves of Acacia mellifera and Acacia luederitzii. Male and female animals have a similar body size (E80 g). Mean age at weaning was 30 days and mean litter size at this age was 1.8. Monthly survival rates varied between 0.25 and 0.86. Density was estimated to be 0.5-1 individual ha À1 . Overall, our results show that the basic ecological characteristics of this arboreal rodent are fairly similar to other rodent species.
Summary: The external dispersal (”epizoochory”) of vascular plant diaspores (seeds and fruits) by roe deer and wild boar (the most common wild large mammals with a large home range in central Europe) was investigated in a 6.5‐km2 forest area in NE Germany dominated by mesic deciduous forests. The study involved brushing out the diaspores from the coats and hooves of 25 shot roe deer and nine wild boar. The results were compared with the forest vegetation of the study area. While wild boar transported large amounts of various diaspores in the coat, the significance of roe deer for epizoochory was low due to their sleek fur and different behavior compared to wild boar. Altogether, 55 vascular plant species were transported externally. Since only a limited number of seeds came from woodland habitats, the open landscape was as important as a source of attached seeds as the forest vegetation. Thus, most plant species occurring in the studied forest area, especially characteristic woodland herbs, showed no adaptations to epizoochorous dispersal, despite high abundance in the herb layer. We conclude that hoofed game play a particular role in the dispersal of ruderal and grassland species in the agricultural landscape of Central Europe. However, the actual spread of some herb species in forests of northern Germany, e.g. Agrostis capillaris, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Deschampsia flexuosa, Galium aparine and Urtica dioica, may be facilitated mainly by wild ungulates. Though dispersal by large mammals is an important mechanism for long‐distance dispersal of plants in general, our results suggest that most of the characteristic herb species of mesic deciduous forests have only low epizoochorous dispersal potentials. The implications for nature conservation and silviculture are discussed.
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