Mixture of xenobiotics in Olusosun landfill leachates (OSL) induced somatic and germ cell genotoxicity in eukaryotic cells. However, whether the DNA-damaged germ cells can increase reproductive failure, embryotoxicity and/or teratogenicity during fertilization remained unclear. The study herein investigated reproductive toxicity and embryotoxic effects of OSL in mice using abnormal sperm morphology and dominant lethal mutation assays. Six mice per group were exposed to 0.5 mL of 5, 10, 25, and 50% OSL (v/v, leachate/distilled water) for 5 consecutive days. Similar treatment was giving to distilled water and cyclophosphamide (20 mg/kg body weight), as negative and positive control groups, respectively. At 35 day post-treatment, the mice were sacrificed and examined for cauda epididymal abnormal sperm morphology, testicular weight change and histopathological lesions. Male mice were mated to untreated nulliparous females (1 treated male per 2 untreated females) until vaginal plugs were observed. Pregnant females were sacrificed on 14th day post-mating and uterine content examined for number of implants per female, resorptions, and live and dead fetuses. OSL significantly increased teratozoospermia by 31.02% with amorphous sperm head having the highest frequency and sperm with two heads, the least. Histology of the testes revealed congestion of the interstitial blood vessels, spermatid retention and disorganization of the germinal epithelium from the basal compartment. OSL insignificantly increased absolute and relative testes weights but reduced body weight of exposed mice. There was insignificant induction of dominant lethal mutation, although low fertility was observed in the treated mice. The analyzed physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals/metalloids in OSL were higher than permissible limits. The metals, physico-chemical parameters and other unanalyzed substances in OSL induced abnormal sperm morphology, altered testes pathology, but did not significantly induce dominant lethal mutation in mice. Constituents of OSL are toxic to the male reproductive organs in mice and suggests harmful impact on public health. Indiscriminate disposal of solid wastes in the environment should be prevented.

Praomys delectorum occurs abundantly in both disturbed and intact forests in the Ukaguru Mountains within the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM), Morogoro, Tanzania. While previous studies have reported that anthropogenic disturbances such as grazing, wood cutting, and harvesting have a positive effect on the population density of P. delectorum, the impact of habitat disturbance on its demographic traits is still unknown. We performed a capture–mark–recapture study in both disturbed and intact forests from June 2018 to February 2020 in order to investigate the effects of habitat disturbance on abundance and two demographic traits: survival and maturation of P. delectorum in the Ukaguru Mountains. We found no variation in abundance or maturation between intact and disturbed forests, but habitat type did affect survival. However, this effect was sex‐dependent since female survival was higher in disturbed forests, while male survival remained similar across the two forest types potentially due to differences in predation pressure or food availability between the two habitats. Continuous demographic monitoring of P. delectorum in EAM is necessary given that the increasing human population surrounding the landscape is leading to higher deforestation rates and expansion of the pine plantation in the forest reserve.

This study aimed at investigating the dietary composition of rodents in the Ukaguru Mountains, Tanzania. Micro-histological analysis of the stomach contents of rodents collected from various habitats was carried out. In the diet of Mastomys natalensis, Lemniscomys rosalia and Mus triton, seed/grain showed greater importance (>35%, >55% and 60% respectively), whereas for Lophuromys kilonzoi, plant materials were more important (>55%) than other categories. Seed/grains were more important (>20%) in the diet of Praomys delectorum, while plant materials were more important (>45%) in the diet of forest-dwelling L. kilonzoi. Food diversity for rodents in farmland was relatively low compared with forest-dwelling rodents. Our results indicated that the relatively low niche breadth observed in rodents caught in farms could be attributed to the major contribution of seed/grains to their diet while forest-dwelling rodents showed greater food diversity owing to the more heterogeneous and stable nature of forests compared with farms. The abundance of food resources in both habitats would have permitted coexistence of rodent species. K E Y W O R D S diet, eastern Arc Mountains, niche breadth, rodents Résumé L'objectif de cette étude était d'examiner la composition du régime alimentaire des rongeurs dans les monts Ukaguru, en Tanzanie. Une microanalyse histologique du contenu stomacal de rongeurs prélevés au sein de divers habitats a été réalisée. L'abondance des graines et des céréales s'est avérée plus importante dans le régime alimentaire des espèces Mastomys natalensis, Lemniscomys rosalia et Mus triton (>35 %, >55 % et 60 % respectivement), tandis que l'abondance des matières végétales était plus importante (>55 %) dans le régime alimentaire de l'espèce Lophuromys kilonzoi que dans celui des autres catégories. L'abondance des graines et des céréales était plus importante (>20 %) dans le régime alimentaire de l'espèce Praomys delectorum, tandis que l'abondance de matières végétales était plus importante (>45 %) dans le régime alimentaire de l'espèce L. kilonzoi vivant dans la forêt. La diversité du régime alimentaire des rongeurs au sein des terres agricoles était relativement faible par rapport à celle du régime alimentaire des rongeurs vivant dans les forêts. Nos résultats

We assessed the habitat association of the diversity and abundance of small mammals in the Ukaguru Mountains within the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania. An estimation of the vegetation parameters and live-trapping of small mammals for three consecutive nights per month for 21 months were carried out in farmland, disturbed and intact forests. A total of 1196 individual small mammals comprising 13 species were captured. Species diversity and evenness in intact forest were much higher compared to disturbed forest. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained 87.7% of the variance with two factors. The study suggests vegetation and habitat disturbances are factors responsible for the observed diversity of small mammals in the Ukaguru Mountains. Mastomys natalensis, Mus triton and Praomys delectorum accounted for 90.0% of total captures. M. triton and M. natalensis were the most abundant in farmland with 46.8 and 42.8% of total captures respectively and associated with the herbaceous vegetation. P. delectorum correlated with litter depth and trees and accounted for 90.0 and 80.0% total captures in disturbed and intact forests respectively but the mean abundances in both habitats were not significantly different (p = 0.72).