Original Research

Habitat, food, and small mammal community structure in Namaqualand

M. van Deventer, J.A.J. Nel
Koedoe | Vol 49, No 1 | a103 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v49i1.103 | © 2006 South African National Parks
Submitted: 18 December 2006 | Published: 18 December 2006

About the author(s)

M. van Deventer, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
J.A.J. Nel, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (186KB)

Abstract

The effect of habitat differences and food availability on small mammal (rodent and elephant shrew) species richness, diversity, density and biomass was investigated in Namaqualand, South Africa. Species richness in the three habitats sampled, namely Upland Succulent Karoo, Dry Riverine Shrub and North-western Mountain Renosterveld was low, with only 2–4 species per habitat. Rodents trapped were predominantly Gerbillurus paeba and Aethomys namaquensis, with fewer Mus minutoides and Petromyscus sp. The only non-rodent was the elephant shrew Elephantulus edwardii. Ten habitat features, the percentage of total plant cover, tree cover, shrub cover, grass cover, plant litter, total basal cover, sand, gravel or rock cover, and the dominant plant height were recorded at 30 randomly chosen points on five sampling grids in each habitat. Small mammal density and biomass was significantly correlated with food availability (green foliage cover, seeds, and relative density and biomass of insects). Species richness and diversity of small mammals were significantly correlated with shrub cover. Numbers and biomass of specific species correlated significantly with different habitat features in each case.

Keywords

Habitat features; Small mammals; Species richness; Diversity; Namaqualand

Metrics

Total abstract views: 7649
Total article views: 6073

 

Crossref Citations

1. Vegetation structure shapes small mammal communities in African savannas
Anne A Loggins, Ara Monadjem, Laurence M Kruger, Brian E Reichert, Robert A McCleery
Journal of Mammalogy  vol: 100  issue: 4  first page: 1243  year: 2019  
doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz100

2. Movement Choices of Persecuted Caracals on Farmlands in South Africa
Kristine J. Teichman, B. Cristescu, L. Crevier, M.J. O'Riain, K.E. Hodges
Rangeland Ecology & Management  vol: 88  first page: 77  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1016/j.rama.2023.02.004

3. Implications of potential biome boundary shifts for small mammal assemblages in the arid zone of South Africa
Laetitia Piers, Igshaan Samuels, Mmoto Masubelele, Adriaan Engelbrecht
Austral Ecology  vol: 45  issue: 7  first page: 948  year: 2020  
doi: 10.1111/aec.12909

4. Small mammal species diversity and distribution in the Selous ecosystem, Tanzania
Aenea Saanya, Apia Massawe, Rhodes Makundi
African Zoology  vol: 57  issue: 1  first page: 20  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1080/15627020.2022.2034040

5. Ecological and methodological drivers of small mammal diversity in African deserts
Giovanni Amori, Luca Luiselli
Journal of Arid Environments  vol: 235  first page: 105578  year: 2026  
doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2026.105578

6. The forgotten pollinators – First field evidence for nectar-feeding by primarily insectivorous elephant-shrews
Petra Wester
Journal of Pollination Ecology  vol: 16  first page: 108  year: 2015  
doi: 10.26786/1920-7603(2015)14

7. Nectar feeding by the Cape rock elephant-shrew Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea) — A primarily insectivorous mammal pollinates the parasite Hyobanche atropurpurea (Orobanchaceae)
Petra Wester
Flora  vol: 206  issue: 12  first page: 997  year: 2011  
doi: 10.1016/j.flora.2011.05.010

8. Review of small mammal trophic structure in drylands: resource availability, use, and disturbance
Barry J. Fox
Journal of Mammalogy  vol: 92  issue: 6  first page: 1179  year: 2011  
doi: 10.1644/10-MAMM-S-227.1

9. The Round‐Eared Sengi and the Evolution of Social Monogamy: Factors that Constrain Males to Live with a Single Female
Melanie Schubert, Neville Pillay, David O. Ribble, Carsten Schradin
Ethology  vol: 115  issue: 10  first page: 972  year: 2009  
doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01684.x

10. Sticky snack for sengis: The Cape rock elephant-shrew, Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea), as a pollinator of the Pagoda lily, Whiteheadia bifolia (Hyacinthaceae)
Petra Wester
Naturwissenschaften  vol: 97  issue: 12  first page: 1107  year: 2010  
doi: 10.1007/s00114-010-0723-6

11. Wild small mammals in intensive milk cattle and swine production systems
Lovera Rosario, Fernández M. Soledad, Cavia Regino
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment  vol: 202  first page: 251  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2015.01.003

12. Shrub cover homogenizes small mammals’ activity and perceived predation risk
Anne A. Loggins, Adrian M. Shrader, Ara Monadjem, Robert A. McCleery
Scientific Reports  vol: 9  issue: 1  year: 2019  
doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-53071-y

13. Ectoparasite load of small mammals in the Serengeti Ecosystem: effects of land use, season, host species, age, sex and breeding status
M. Shilereyo, F. Magige, P. S. Ranke, J. O. Ogutu, E. Røskaft
Parasitology Research  vol: 121  issue: 3  first page: 823  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1007/s00436-022-07439-1

14. Pleistocene Micromammals and Their Predators at Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa
Yolanda Fernandez-Jalvo, D. Margaret Avery
African Archaeological Review  vol: 32  issue: 4  first page: 751  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1007/s10437-015-9206-7

15. Abundance and microhabitat use of rodent species in crop fields and bushland in Ethiopia
Kiros Welegerima, Yonas Meheretu, Tsegazeabe H. Haileselassie, Brhane Gebre, Dawit Kidane, Apia W. Massawe, Nsajigwa E. Mbije, Rhodes H. Makundi
Journal of Vertebrate Biology  vol: 69  issue: 2  first page: 1  year: 2020  
doi: 10.25225/jvb.20054

16. Associative colour learning and discrimination in the South African Cape rock sengi Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea, Afrotheria, Mammalia)
Patricia Thüs, Klaus Lunau, Petra Wester
Mammalia  vol: 87  issue: 2  first page: 166  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1515/mammalia-2022-0034

17. Body temperature patterns in two syntopic elephant shrew species during winter
Justin G. Boyles, Ben Smit, Catherine L. Sole, Andrew E. McKechnie
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology  vol: 161  issue: 1  first page: 89  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2011.09.007

18. Post K-Pg rise in ant and termite prevalence underlies convergent dietary specialization in mammals
Thomas Vida, Zachary T Calamari, Phillip Barden, Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou, Hélène Morlon
Evolution  vol: 79  issue: 10  first page: 2315  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1093/evolut/qpaf121