The population ecology of small rodents in the grassland of Ruwenzori National Park, Uganda
The population ecology of small rodents in the grassland of Ruwenzori National Park, Uganda
The study was conducted in the Crater Area savanna of Rwenzori National Park, Uganda. Fourteen species of rodents belonging to the Family Muridae occur in this habitat, and software sufficiently abundant to enable a detailed investigation of their home range, population density, biomass, production, longevity and habitat exploitation. Trapping techniques were employed that had been developed in the study of rodent populations in temperate climates. Observations were made on factors involved in the regulation of rodent population density. Mean home range size for all species fell approximately within the range of .15 to .30 hectares. The home range varied in size according to the feeding habits and size of individual species. There are two wet seasons a year in this region of tropical Africa, and in all rodent species maximum breeding activity occurs at the end of the wet seasons. The fluctuations in population density followed the pattern of breeding with peak densities occurring about one month, after the end of the wet seasons. Burning has a profound effect on the rodent population, and different species are affected in different ways. Some attained their maximum densities soon after a burn, while others were simultaneously adversely affected and their numbers fell dramatically. The lowest overall density of rodents recorded was 17 per hectare and the highest 63 per hectare. The biomass of rodents in the Crater Area remained relatively unchanged, despite the occurrence of burning, throughout the period of study. Extremes of 700 and 2,200'g/ha were recorded. The different habitat requirements of individual species enabled the available resources to be exploited to the fullest extent so that, even with changing environmental conditions, production is maintained. at an optimum level. Information is given on the activity patterns of rodents in the Crater Area. When this is combined with information on their feeding habits and habitat preference, there is strong evidence for niche separation. Rodents were found to be more abundant in areas where large mammals were absent. Comparisons are made between the relative importance of the small and large mammal communities in the grassland ecosystem.
University of Southampton
Cheeseman, Christopher Leslie
1975
Cheeseman, Christopher Leslie
Cheeseman, Christopher Leslie
(1975)
The population ecology of small rodents in the grassland of Ruwenzori National Park, Uganda.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The study was conducted in the Crater Area savanna of Rwenzori National Park, Uganda. Fourteen species of rodents belonging to the Family Muridae occur in this habitat, and software sufficiently abundant to enable a detailed investigation of their home range, population density, biomass, production, longevity and habitat exploitation. Trapping techniques were employed that had been developed in the study of rodent populations in temperate climates. Observations were made on factors involved in the regulation of rodent population density. Mean home range size for all species fell approximately within the range of .15 to .30 hectares. The home range varied in size according to the feeding habits and size of individual species. There are two wet seasons a year in this region of tropical Africa, and in all rodent species maximum breeding activity occurs at the end of the wet seasons. The fluctuations in population density followed the pattern of breeding with peak densities occurring about one month, after the end of the wet seasons. Burning has a profound effect on the rodent population, and different species are affected in different ways. Some attained their maximum densities soon after a burn, while others were simultaneously adversely affected and their numbers fell dramatically. The lowest overall density of rodents recorded was 17 per hectare and the highest 63 per hectare. The biomass of rodents in the Crater Area remained relatively unchanged, despite the occurrence of burning, throughout the period of study. Extremes of 700 and 2,200'g/ha were recorded. The different habitat requirements of individual species enabled the available resources to be exploited to the fullest extent so that, even with changing environmental conditions, production is maintained. at an optimum level. Information is given on the activity patterns of rodents in the Crater Area. When this is combined with information on their feeding habits and habitat preference, there is strong evidence for niche separation. Rodents were found to be more abundant in areas where large mammals were absent. Comparisons are made between the relative importance of the small and large mammal communities in the grassland ecosystem.
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Published date: 1975
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Local EPrints ID: 462350
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/462350
PURE UUID: 526012b4-e8ab-4f1c-9d69-e84ce0085f4d
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 19:06
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 19:06
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Author:
Christopher Leslie Cheeseman
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