Population density, feeding and, reproductive ecology of rodents from Alemsaga Priority State Forest and adjacent farmlands

Abstract

A study on population density, feeding, and reproductive ecology of rodents from Alemsaga Priority State Forest and the adjacent farmlands was conducted from July 2018-September 2020. Live and snap traps were used for capturing rodents from the study area. The Capture-Mark-Release method was employed to estimate the population size and respective density of rodents. Snap traps were used to capture rodents for body measurement and stomach content analysis. Embryo count was carried out from 64 pregnant females. Data were computed using descriptive statistics and compared with chi-square. Lophuromys simensis, Arvicanthis abyssinicus, Desmomys harringtoni, Mastomys natalensis, Stenocephalemys albipes, Rattus rattus, Arvicanthis dembeensis, Mus musculus, and Acomys cahrinus were recorded from the six habitats. The result indicated that a total of 1140 and 171 individuals were trapped in the study area with live and snap traps, respectively. The average population density of rodents was 47.4 h^-1. The highest density was recorded in bushland habitat (75.1 h^-l) while the least was in Carissa land (32.2h^-l). In terms of species, L. simensis showed the highest density (111.65 h^-l) whereas A. cahrinus was the lowest (1.7 ha^-1). The overall densities of rodents were 224.82 ha^-1 and 162.93 ha^-1 during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The total rodent biomass in the study area was 160,495 g. The number of embryos counted ranged from 4-12 and 2-8 during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. However, there was no statistical significance between the two seasons (χ² = 0.74, df=1, p> 0.05). Plant matters constituted a higher proportion of stomach contents (64.4%) compared to animal matters (13.2%). Generally, Alemsaga State Forest harbors rodent species with high density and biomass. Proper conservation of the area will contribute to the betterment of species density and biomass.