Life on high: the diversity of small mammals at high altitude in South Africa

Abstract

The Great Escarpment is the major mountain system in South Africa, yet very few biological surveys have been conducted outside of the well-known Drakensberg section. This is surprising given the important role that mountains play in local and global biodiversity patterns. In this study, small mammal diversity and community composition were estimated at three high altitude ([1,700 m) sites within the Sneeuberg Mountain Complex (SMC) of the Great Escarpment, South Africa from June 2009 to May 2010. The influences of selected environmental variables on diversity were also tested. Of 423 livecaptures, a total of 292 unique individuals of 12 small mammal species (one shrew, one elephant shrew and 10 rodents) were identified during 5,280 trap nights. No single environmental variable could account for the variation observed in diversity measurements but vegetation height appeared to be the most important factor to influence the number of individuals captured. It is hypothesised that the high species richness and diversity of small mammals observed in the SMC compared to other parts of the Great Escarpment is due to the SMC being located in a transition zone of the Grassland and Nama-Karoo biomes. Our results suggest that the SMC could be important in conserving small mammal species from western and eastern assemblages across South Africa.

High rodent abundance increases seed removal but decreases scatter‐hoarding and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient

“…In addition, we obtained the first evidence for a large population of T. swinhoei in the study area. Regions with high species abundances often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Whittaker et al 2001;Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), where the high abundance at mid-elevations may be due to the interactions among temperature, water, and vegetation (Kryštufek et al 2011;Kok et al 2012). Similar to previous studies (Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), we found that the number of rodents was higher at lower and middle elevations, which was also consistent with the seed removal rates.…”

High rodent abundance increases seed removal but decreases scatter‐hoarding and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient

“…In addition, we obtained the first evidence for a large population of T. swinhoei in the study area. Regions with high species abundances often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Whittaker et al 2001;Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), where the high abundance at mid-elevations may be due to the interactions among temperature, water, and vegetation (Kryštufek et al 2011;Kok et al 2012). Similar to previous studies (Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), we found that the number of rodents was higher at lower and middle elevations, which was also consistent with the seed removal rates.…”

Habitat associations of small mammals in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

“…During this study, 14 small mammal species were recorded, which is slightly higher compared with the 12 species recorded in the Sneeuberg mountain complex (SMC) of the Drakensberg Mountains, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (Kok et al 2012). More than half of the small mammal species captured during this study were also captured in the SMC with Rhabdomys chakae being the most abundant species in both studies.…”

“…Therefore, the presence of M. albicaudatus in the Drakensburg Mountains implies that the Drakensberg Mountains provide important habitat that is relevant for the conservation of this species. During our study, the species was captured at relatively high altitudes (between 1450 m and 1750 m above sea level) in rocky situations within grasslands, suggesting such conditions are important for its conservation (Kok et al 2012).…”

“…The diverse small mammal community and the presence of threatened species in the Drakensberg Mountains demonstrates the importance of this region in conserving this group. We repeat the call of Kok et al (2012) that this important region requires further attention from mammalogists.…”

肯尼亚山非飞行小型兽类多样性及其垂直分布格局

“…As regions with high species abundance often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Bateman et al, 2010; Whittaker et al, 2001), the high abundance at mid-elevations on both the Chogoria and Sirimon slopes may be due to the interaction of temperature, water, and vegetation (Curran et al, 2012; Kok et al, 2012; Kryštufek et al, 2011; Linden et al, 2014; McCain, 2007). On Chogoria, small mammal abundance increased at 2 800–3 000 m a.s.l.…”

High rodent abundance increases seed removal but decreases scatter‐hoarding and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient

“…In addition, we obtained the first evidence for a large population of T. swinhoei in the study area. Regions with high species abundances often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Whittaker et al 2001;Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), where the high abundance at mid-elevations may be due to the interactions among temperature, water, and vegetation (Kryštufek et al 2011;Kok et al 2012). Similar to previous studies (Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), we found that the number of rodents was higher at lower and middle elevations, which was also consistent with the seed removal rates.…”

Habitat associations of small mammals in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

“…During this study, 14 small mammal species were recorded, which is slightly higher compared with the 12 species recorded in the Sneeuberg mountain complex (SMC) of the Drakensberg Mountains, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (Kok et al 2012). More than half of the small mammal species captured during this study were also captured in the SMC with Rhabdomys chakae being the most abundant species in both studies.…”

“…Therefore, the presence of M. albicaudatus in the Drakensburg Mountains implies that the Drakensberg Mountains provide important habitat that is relevant for the conservation of this species. During our study, the species was captured at relatively high altitudes (between 1450 m and 1750 m above sea level) in rocky situations within grasslands, suggesting such conditions are important for its conservation (Kok et al 2012).…”

“…The diverse small mammal community and the presence of threatened species in the Drakensberg Mountains demonstrates the importance of this region in conserving this group. We repeat the call of Kok et al (2012) that this important region requires further attention from mammalogists.…”

肯尼亚山非飞行小型兽类多样性及其垂直分布格局

“…As regions with high species abundance often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Bateman et al, 2010; Whittaker et al, 2001), the high abundance at mid-elevations on both the Chogoria and Sirimon slopes may be due to the interaction of temperature, water, and vegetation (Curran et al, 2012; Kok et al, 2012; Kryštufek et al, 2011; Linden et al, 2014; McCain, 2007). On Chogoria, small mammal abundance increased at 2 800–3 000 m a.s.l.…”

High rodent abundance increases seed removal but decreases scatter‐hoarding and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient

“…In addition, we obtained the first evidence for a large population of T. swinhoei in the study area. Regions with high species abundances often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Whittaker et al 2001;Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), where the high abundance at mid-elevations may be due to the interactions among temperature, water, and vegetation (Kryštufek et al 2011;Kok et al 2012). Similar to previous studies (Gworek et al 2007;Thein et al 2021), we found that the number of rodents was higher at lower and middle elevations, which was also consistent with the seed removal rates.…”

Habitat associations of small mammals in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa

“…During this study, 14 small mammal species were recorded, which is slightly higher compared with the 12 species recorded in the Sneeuberg mountain complex (SMC) of the Drakensberg Mountains, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (Kok et al 2012). More than half of the small mammal species captured during this study were also captured in the SMC with Rhabdomys chakae being the most abundant species in both studies.…”

“…Therefore, the presence of M. albicaudatus in the Drakensburg Mountains implies that the Drakensberg Mountains provide important habitat that is relevant for the conservation of this species. During our study, the species was captured at relatively high altitudes (between 1450 m and 1750 m above sea level) in rocky situations within grasslands, suggesting such conditions are important for its conservation (Kok et al 2012).…”

“…The diverse small mammal community and the presence of threatened species in the Drakensberg Mountains demonstrates the importance of this region in conserving this group. We repeat the call of Kok et al (2012) that this important region requires further attention from mammalogists.…”

肯尼亚山非飞行小型兽类多样性及其垂直分布格局

“…As regions with high species abundance often occur at intermediate elevation bands (Bateman et al, 2010; Whittaker et al, 2001), the high abundance at mid-elevations on both the Chogoria and Sirimon slopes may be due to the interaction of temperature, water, and vegetation (Curran et al, 2012; Kok et al, 2012; Kryštufek et al, 2011; Linden et al, 2014; McCain, 2007). On Chogoria, small mammal abundance increased at 2 800–3 000 m a.s.l.…”