Seasonal variation of non-volant small mammals in Gibe Sheleko national park, Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

The species composition and abundance of small mammals can vary within space and time. The main objective of this study was to assess seasonal variation of non-volant small mammals from randomly selected Acacia woodland, bushland, farmland, grassland, riverine forest and wooded grassland habitats in Gibe Sheleko National Park, southwestern Ethiopia. Data were collected using 49 Sharman live traps in 70 x 70 m sized square girds from December, 2018 to August, 2020. Capture mark recapture technique was applied to estimate population size of the existing small mammals and the data were analyzed using a chi-square test. A total of 1160 individual small mammals belonging to 10 species and 2 families were recorded. Three non-captured species: Hystrix cristata, Xerus rutilus and Tachyoryctes splendens were also identified. There was a significant (χ2= 31.12, df = 1, P < 0.05) difference in the total abundance of small mammals between seasons. Of the total individuals captured, 675(58.19%) were trapped during the wet season while 485(41.81%) individuals were during the dry season. Significant seasonal variation was also observed in the total abundance of both sexes, i e. males (χ2= 11.99, df = 1, P < 0.05) and females (χ2= 20.24, df = 1, P < 0.05). Among age groups, significant statistical seasonal variation was shown in adults (χ2=15.14, df = 1, P < 0.05) and young (χ2=44.61, df = 1, P < 0.05) but not significant in sub-adults (χ2=0.75, df = 1, P >0.05). The identified small mammals exhibited seasonal changes in their abundance associated with changes in climatic and environmental conditions. However, a long-term and annual based study is required to see the overall dynamics of existing small mammals.

Spatiotemporal changes in small mammal community of Wenchi highlands, central Ethiopia

“…This study recorded non-significant sex ratio variation though female was in more numbers during both seasons. This is in agreement to reports from different parts of Ethiopia (Tadesse Bekele, 2021). Such variation maybe associated with the difference in ecological distribution of resources between these areas.…”

“…The diversity of small mammals also showed temporal variations. This supports the seasonal and interannual changes in the diversity and abundance of small mammals ( Bekele, 2021). Some other scholars still argue that the increase is only limited to the early dry season following the rainfall patterns, and then decline as the season progresses and the resources runout (Happold and Happold, 1990;Mulatu Osie et al, 2010;Kiros Welegerima et al, 2020).…”

“…Misher et al (2022) also reported small mammal community fluctuations with the seasonal abundance of invasive shrub Prosopis juliflora in western India. The low population abundance of small mammals during the wetter seasons may perhaps attribute to the increase in the risks of predation and food starvation due to the absence and/or reduction in the ground cover (Seyoum Kiros and Afework Bekele, 2021).…”

“…The diversity and population dynamics of small mammals in a particular area is primarily determined by several biological (Sintayehu Workeneh et al, 2011; Getachew Bantihun and Afework , climatic (Makundi et al, 2006) and anthropogenic (Addis Fekadu et al, 2015) factors. Small mammals' diversity and abundance display prominent seasonal and interannual fluctuations (Makundi et al, 2006 Bekele, 2021). Such fluctuations determine their distribution and relative abundance (Mohammed Kasso and Afework .…”

Species composition, abundance and habitat association of non‐volant small mammals in Gibe Sheleko National Park, southwestern Ethiopia

“…Some investigations on ecosystem restoration in fire‐managed savannah woodlands (Johansson et al, 2021), bird species diversity and distribution (Abie et al, 2019; Tadele et al, 2020), attitude and perceptions of the local community (Tilahun et al, 2017), land use‐land cover change detection (Hailu et al, 2018) and conservation challenges (Amare, 2015) are conducted in Gibe Sheleko National Park. Furthermore, Kiros and Bekele (2021) investigated the seasonal variation of non‐volant small mammals of the Park. Therefore, this paper focuses primarily on the species diversity, abundance and habitat association of non‐volant small mammals of Gibe Sheleko National Park.…”