Use of habitats by non-volant small mammals in Cerrado in Central Brazil

Abstract

Non-volant small mammals are organisms capable of yielding precise information on richness, abundance and species composition variations related to the use of habitats. The aim of this research was to compare these variations in Cerrado sensu stricto, Palm Forest, Gallery Forest and Rocky Field. From May 1999 to February 2000, we surveyed non-volant small mammals (hence small mammals) in Serra das Araras Ecological Station. We captured 218 individuals and recaptured 62 individuals, belonging to 21 taxa, 13 rodents and eight marsupials, in a total of 13200 trap-nights. Capture success was 1.7%. We observed higher richness of small mammals in forested areas (Gallery Forest and Palm Forest) than in open areas (Rocky Field and Cerrado sensu stricto). The Palm Forest had the highest richness of marsupials, possibly due to the quality of a specific niche. The Rocky Field had the smallest richness, but with very high abundance of few species, mainly Thrichomys pachyurus and Monodelphis domestica. Forest habitats had similar species composition. The open habitats, Cerrado sensu stricto and Rocky Field, had a distinct species composition between them, and also when compared to forested areas. Different species are exclusive or showed preference for specific habitats. The protection of horizontally heterogeneous biomes, such as Cerrado, has a fundamental importance to the maintenance of the regional diversity of the small mammal community of Central Brazil.Keywords: Cerrado, Ecological Station, Serra das Araras, ecology of mammals. Uso de habtats por pequenos mamíferos não-voadores no Cerrado do Brasil Central ResumoPequenos mamíferos não voadores são organismos que permitem observações precisas sobre diferenças nos aspectos de riqueza, abundância, composição e uso de habitats. Com a finalidade de investigar a existência dessas diferenças entre Cerrado sensu stricto, Mata de Palmeiras Babaçu, Mata de Galeria e Campo Rupestre, realizaram-se, no período de maio de 1999 a fevereiro de 2000, levantamentos de pequenos mamíferos não voadores na Estação Ecológica Serra das Araras. Houve a captura de 218 indivíduos e 62 recapturas, pertencentes a 21 táxons, sendo 13 roedores e 8 marsupiais, em um total de 13.200 armadilhas × noite. O sucesso total de captura foi de 1,7%. A riqueza total de pequenos mamíferos foi maior nas áreas de matas (Mata de Galeria e Mata de Palmeiras Babaçu) do que nas áreas abertas (Campo Rupestre e Cerrado sensu stricto). A Mata de Palmeiras Babaçu foi a que apresentou a maior riqueza de marsupiais, possivelmente em virtude da qualidade de nicho específico. O Campo Rupestre apresentou menor riqueza, porém com abundância relativa muito alta de algumas espécies, principalmente Thrichomys pachyurus e Monodelphis domestica. Habitats florestados apresentaram similaridade em composição de espécies de pequenos mamíferos. Os habitats abertos Cerrado sensu stricto e Campo Rupestre foram distintos quanto à composição de espécies quando comparados entre si e com áreas florestadas. Diferentes espécies são e...

Nonvolant small mammals from a southwestern area of Brazilian Cerrado: diversity, habitat use, seasonality, and biogeography

“…The live trap success rates obtained in this study was similar (2-5 %) to those found in other studies in the Cerrado where different habitats were surveyed (e. g., Marinho-Filho et al 1994;Lacher and Alho 2001;Cáceres et al 2011;Carmignotto and Aires 2011;Bonvicino et al 2012;Santos-Filho et al 2012;Owen 2013). However, some studies dealing with only one type of habitat (e. g. Ribeiro and Marinho-Filho 2005;Becker et al 2007) or situated in transitional areas (i. e. Bezerra et al 2009) presented higher capture success rates (7-23 %).…”

“…The exceptions were some rodent species that feed on grasses, such as the grass mouse Necromys lasiurus. However, as the small mammal species of the Cerrado show great variation in population density, time of reproduction and rhythm of activity among different localities (e. g. Santos-Filho et al 2012;Owen 2013), only longterm studies could reveal the relationships between resource abundance, density and reproductive activity in this area. The Emas National Park nonvolant small mammal assemblage is very rich (23 species).…”

“…However, these species are not distributed homogeneously throughout the biome, and often are distributed in a restricted and/or heterogeneous manner, and this is especially true for small mammals (Alho 2005). Studies in the Cerrado have suggested a patchy distribution for the nonvolant small mammals which are associated with the distinct habitats in the region (e. g. Mares et al 1986;Lacher and Alho 2001;Santos-Filho et al 2012), with distinct species assemblages found in different areas (Carmignotto et al 2012). Also, the relative abundance of species varies among localities, and some species can be found in high numbers at a given site, but be rare or even absent in others (i. e. Marinho-Filho et al 1994).…”

Seasonally flooded stepping stones: emerging diversity of small mammal assemblage in the Amazonia-Cerrado ecotone, central Brazil

“…As argued by Carmignotto (2005), zoogeographical patterns observed in the Cerrado are related with the distance to adjacent biomes and their contribution to the small mammal assemblages of this biome. For example, group II has great influence of the Amazonia as mentioned above (Lacher and Alho 2001;Carmignotto 2005;Cáceres et al 2008;Bezerra et al 2009;Rocha et al 2011;Santos-Filho et al 2012); group III and sites 20 and 22 have great influence of Pantanal and Chaco, accounting with species such as Thylamys macrurus, Marmosa constantiae and Oligoryzomys chacoensis (Carmignotto 2005;Cáceres et al 2010Cáceres et al , 2011Hannibal and Cáceres 2010;Napoli and Cáceres 2012); group IV accounts with typical and endemic Cerrado species, such as Calomys expulsus, Olygoryzomys moojeni and Rhipidomys macrurus (Mares and Ernest 1995;Bonvicino et al 2002Bonvicino et al , 2005Bonvicino and Bezerra 2003;Carmignotto 2005;Pereira and Geise 2009;Carmignotto and Aires 2011); and finally, group V and site 29 have influence of Atlantic forest, accounting with species such as Marmosops incanus and Philander frenatus (Rodrigues et al 2002;Carmignotto 2005;Paglia et al 2005;Gheler-Costa et al 2012).…”

“…However, these latter sites also clustered with sites from western Cerrado and Amazonia-Cerrado and Atlantic Forest-Cerrado ecotones. This region (group II) is a transition between dry areas and moist forested areas in central-western Brazil, which is characterized by the presence of typical Amazonian species, such as M. didelphoides, and by typical inhabitants of the Cerrado species, such as C. tocantinsi (Latcher and Allho 2001;Carmignotto 2005;Cáceres et al 2008;Bezerra et al 2009;Rocha et al 2011;Santos-Filho et al 2012), and also in the southern (site 19) by typical Atlantic Forest species, such as Gracilinanus microtarsus (Cáceres et al 2008). Thus, these results corroborate the strong influence of moist tropical forested biomes on the natural forest fragments at the Araguaia alluvial plain (Martins et al 2008).…”