Relative Abundance, Diet Composition and Breeding Season of Rodents in Cultivated Field and Grassland Habitats in Shashogo District, Hadiya Zone, South Ethiopia

Abstract

Ecological study on the relative abundance, diet composition and breeding season of rodents in cultivated and grassland habitats in Shashogo District, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia was carried out from February, 2013 to August 2013. The study was carried out using snap traps in farm and grassland habitats. A total of 106 individuals belonging to three species were captured using snap-traps, in 450 trap nights. The three rodent species recorded in this were: - Arvicanthis dembeensis (38.7%), Mastomys erythroleucus (23.6%) and Rattus rattus (37.7%). The distribution of species varied between habitats and months. Three and two rodent species were trapped from farm and grassland habitats respectively. The populations of these species were also varied from month to month; highest number of rodents was captured during the months of June to August and less during the months of March to May. More individuals were trapped from the farmlands. There was also significant variation in trap success between the two habitat types. The proportion of adult, sub-adult and young individuals showed significant variation among species and months. Number of pregnant females and embryo count was higher during the months of June to August than the months of March to May. Diet analysis of the stomach content of the rodents of snap trapped individual showed higher proportion of plant matter than animal matter. Vegetation cover, rainfall and human interference were the major factors affecting the abundance and distribution of rodents in the study area.