The study was initially a long-term study of the ecology of small mammals in the Mlawula Nature Reserve in the eastern part of Swaziland. A study of small mammals in the Siphiso Valley of Mlawula Nature Reserve took place over four years from August 2000. They examined the population density, biomass and community composition of small mammals in the area.
The study investigated the composition and characteristics of the small mammal community in the Siphisovalley of Mlawula Nature Reserve.
Population dynamics of small mammals at Mlawula, Swaziland …
The density of Mus minutoides and other small mammals between August 2000 and July 2001 in the Acacia savannah in the Mlawula Nature Reserve. Density (D) numbers per hectare and biomass (B) grams per hectare of small mammals in the Acacia savannah in the Mlawula Nature Reserve between August 2000 and July 2001. The low biomass of small mammals was partly caused by the absence of the ' taller'.
Compared to another survey in the same area (Monadjem 1998b), the biomass of small mammals was low here.
Seasonal change in the age distribution of Mastomys natalensis at Luyengo,
Eye lens weight has been shown to be, and is generally accepted as, the best available estimator of age in small mammals (Martinson et al. Accordingly, eye lens weight curves have been developed for species such as Microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) (Thomas & Bellis) 1980), Mus musculus (wild house mouse ) (Rowe et al. 1985) and Mastomys natalensis (multimatous mouse) (Leirs 1994) However, due to the log-linear relationship between age and eye lens weight, these curves more accurately estimate the age of young animals (Perrin 1979).
This study aimed to use the eye lens weight curve determined by Leirs (1994) to estimate the age distribution of M. Regression and correlation analyzes were performed to test the relationship between eye lens weight and body length. Plot of eye lens weight (mg) versus total body length with 95% confidence intervals shown for Mastomys natalensis caught in Luyengo in October–March.
Graph of eye lens weight (mg) versus total body length with 95% confidence intervals shown for Mastomys natalensis captured in Luyengo in June. The graphs of eye lens weight versus total body length (Figures 5 and 6) show the linearity of the relationship between the two. However, due to the large variation in lens weight and body height, most points fell outside the 95% confidence interval.
The weight of the eye lens is understandably proportional to total body length, but this study suggests that there may be factors other than age that determine total body length. In older animals, other factors, especially reproduction, have a confounding effect on the relationship between age and lens weight (Janova et al. 2007).
The impact of rainfall and grazing pressure on small mammal populations
None of these studies, however, investigated the influence of the onset of the rainy season and variations in monthly rainfall on the population density of small mammals. Rainfall in Tanzania has a major impact on the growth and reproduction of the multi-mammal mouse Mastomys natalensis (Leirs et al. sampling on each side of the road) (Buckland et al. 1993).
For each square, the percentage of grass that was green was estimated and averaged for each grid. Between November and March, 36 Sherman live traps were placed on each of the same grids (6 x 6), spaced 10 m apart. Due to incomplete data on ungulate populations, the impact of ungulates on small mammal populations could not be adequately investigated.
The impact of this decrease in rainfall was in the vegetation, which in many areas was sparse for much of the year. However, relative densities may reflect real trends and relationships in mammal communities in the area. Grazing pressure and cover loss have been exacerbated by low rainfall in the area, slowing the recovery, production and germination of grasses and grass species.
The good rains of the previous two years may have reduced the apparent differences in vegetation structure in the two networks resulting in insignificant differences in populations and. Effects of 20 years of grazing exclusion in an area of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.
The effects of cover and supplemental food on the re-introduction of the
The removal of some of the obstacles should lead to reintroduced animals settling in the area and staying in the area (van Dierendonck et al. 1996). The 16,500 ha reserve includes part of the Lubombo Mountains, Lowveld Plains and the Mlawula and Siphiso rivers. Immediately after release, Sherman traps were set in each of the grids with 10 m between capture points and one trap per point.
An area under the curve (AUC) analysis was calculated using the trapezoid rule (in GenStat 9). The AUC provides a measure of the animals' persistence in each of the treatments. The presence of the released mice in the area may have attracted predators that fed on them.
The effects of the increased numbers of other rodents in the area are further confounding factors. Perennial fluctuations in the size of a population of the bank vol in the European part of the Soviet Union. A comparative study of the ecology of wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus in two contrasting habitats: deciduous woodland and maritime sand dunes.
Woodland small mammal population ecology in Britain: a preliminary review of the Mammal Society survey of wood mice. Prey Specificity of the barn owl, Tyto alba, in the Great Fish Valley of the Eastern Cape Province.
Parasites of small mammals from Mlawula Nature Reserve and Vuvulane,
The study of helminths from wild rodents has been largely undertaken in Europe and North America, although little is known about the biology of helminths of African small mammals (Behnke et al. 2000). The vegetation of the study area consists of mixed forest savanna with grasses, Acacia species and Combretum species (classified by Sweet & Khumalo (1994) as hillside scrub and plateau savanna). The complete digestive system was removed by cutting the esophagus anterior to the stomach and the terminal end of the rectum.
The description of the new species of Heligmonina is given in chapter 6, which was published (Durette-Desset et al 2007). For this reason, much of the discussion is based on the results of M. There is no evidence of host specificity of intestinal parasites in this study.
Ten species of digestive system parasites were found in the intestines of the small mammals studied. The parasite species in rodents from both study sites showed specificity for parts of the digestive tract. The infection rate of rodents from Vuvulane was lower compared to similar studies conducted elsewhere (Ugbomoiko & Obiamiwe 1991, Abd El-Wahed et al. 1999).
The validity of the mean parasite density per rodent is difficult to assess here, as there were far fewer rodent specimens infected with a single parasite. Parasite density per host is related to host genotype (Froeschke & Sommer 2005).
Description of a new species of Baylis, 1928 (Nematoda,
Such studies rely on the accurate identification of the helminths that infect hosts and, in the case of Mastomys spp. The other site was in the NE of the country, the Lowveld region, in Vuvulane. The nomenclature used for the study of the synlophe follows Durette-Desset and Digiani (2005) and that of the caudal bursa Durette-Desset and Chabaud (1981).
The curve of the strut of the left ala is not included in the measurement of its length. The material (types and voucher material) is deposited in the collections of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris (France). In the male, the size of the ala increases progressively from the cephalic vesicle to the posterior part of the body and reaches 60 anterior to the caudal bursa (Fig. 29).
Examination of several male specimens in the material studied indicated some variation in the relative arrangement of rays 3-4-5 in both lobes of the caudal bursa. Similarly, the relative distances between the extremity of rays 3 to 5 showed some variation related to the origin of the rays. The specimens described above possess the main characteristics of the genus Heligmonina (Baylis 1928) (Heligmonellidae, Nippostrongylinae) as redefined by Durette-Desset (1971).
The pattern of the caudal bursa varies greatly between species and generally varies for each lobe. It is, on the other hand, characterized by the pattern of the caudal bursa, where left ray 3 arises before ray 6 on the common trunk of rays 3 to 6.
CONCLUSION
The low densities of small mammals are accompanied by high levels of grazing by ungulates and an invasion by the alien invasive plant species, Parthenium hysterophorus. In summary, this study has attempted to explain the factors behind the low small mammal populations at Mlawula Nature Reserve (MNR). Although it was not always possible to use animals from the MNR, with unknown factors always confounding field studies some.
The occupation of the area by small mammals appears to be determined by habitat factors such as mainly food, and to a lesser extent cover availability. It was found to be intertwined with rainfall, both timing and amount, alien weed infestation and the presence of large herbivores. Although animals captured in MRC and in the other sites were infected with parasites, it could not be determined whether this played a role in the low small mammal densities at MRC.
The impact of the above and other unknown factors on small mammal populations is related to their short lifespan. Mlawula Nature Reserve, specifically the Siphiso Valley, is plagued by a number of problems of both anthropogenic and natural origin. The local extinctions of some species and low densities of small mammals in the study site may be a result of the poor condition of the habitat, that is, it does not provide sufficient shelter and food to support the high densities of small mammals that it previously supported did not support.
The large numbers of ungulates grazing in the area further make the area unsuitable for small mammals.
