Influence of vegetation structure, seasonality, and soil physical
properties on rodent species diversity and community assemblages on West
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Abstract
A study on rodent species diversity and community assemblages in West Mt
Kilimanjaro was conducted in seven different habitats, covering two dry
and wet seasons. Data were collected using a combination of medium-sized
Sherman’s live traps, snap and Havarhart traps, for three consecutive
nights. General Linear Models (GLM) were used to analyze the effects of
predictors (vegetation attributes, seasonality, soil physical
properties, disturbance and altitude) on rodent species richness and
abundance. Community structure analysis was conducted in the Primer v6
program and Canonical correspondence analysis for habitat association in
PAST. A total of 1,393 individuals from 14 species of rodents were
trapped. The most dominant rodent species were Rhabdomys
pumilioPraomys delectorum, and Lophuromys verhageni which
contributed to 68.86% of the total captures. Lophuromys
verhageni occurred across all the habitats and seasons. Moreover,
habitat types, seasonality, soil texture, ground cover, and altitude
significantly influenced rodent species abundance (P< 0.05).
Furthermore, habitat types, seasonality and altitude significantly
influenced rodent species richness (F8, 759 = 629.7, p< 0.001,
R2 = 0.87). In addition to that, two major rodent communities were
formed in different habitats. The results show that rodent species
richness, abundance, and community assemblages in Mt Kilimanjaro, are a
result of change in vegetation structure along the altitudinal
gradients. Therefore, information on habitat requirements of multiple
species is crucial for the management and conservation of these
communities.