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Dietary selection in Mastomys natalensis (Rodentia: Muridae) in the maize agro-ecosystems of central and southwestern Tanzania
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Richard O. Odhiambo
Published/Copyright:
October 6, 2008
Abstract
We studied the feeding habits of Mastomys natalensis by analysing a total of 2934 stomachs from individuals snap trapped from maize fields and the surrounding fallow land of central and southwestern Tanzania between February 2001 and October 2002. Mastomys natalensis had a wide range of food items in their diet; however, there was a clear seasonal effect on the consumption of the different food categories. They fed more on seeds, arthropods and grasses during the wet season and on the other plant materials during the dry season. Maize seed was the most preferred diet category, when available. The shifts towards greater consumption of maize, when available, coupled by the high densities attained by this species render it the greatest potential rodent pest in the study areas.
Published Online: 2008-10-06
Published in Print: 2008-09-01
©2008 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
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- Polyandry and polygyny in an African rodent pest species, Mastomys natalensis
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Articles in the same Issue
- Preface
- Preface
- Original Studies
- Polyandry and polygyny in an African rodent pest species, Mastomys natalensis
- Social relationships in Mastomys huberti as deduced from field and genetic analyses of multiple capture data
- Dietary selection in Mastomys natalensis (Rodentia: Muridae) in the maize agro-ecosystems of central and southwestern Tanzania
- Diversity and distribution of rodent and shrew species associated with variations in altitude on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Correlating small mammal community characteristics and habitat integrity in the Caledon Nature Reserve, South Africa
- Farmer survey in the hinterland of Kisangani (Democratic Republic of Congo) on rodent crop damage and rodent control techniques used
- Ecology and ethnozoology of the three-cusped pangolin Manis tricuspis (Mammalia, Pholidota) in the Lama forest reserve, Benin
- Shrew trap efficiency: experience from primary forest, secondary forest, old fallow land and old palm plantation in the Congo River basin (Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Microgeographical distribution of shrews (Mammalia, Soricidae) in the Congo River basin (Kisangani, D.R. Congo)
- The presence of Praomys, Lophuromys, and Deomys species (Muridae, Mammalia) in the forest blocks separated by the Congo River and its tributaries (Kisangani region, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Morphometric characterization of the Giant Pouched Rat (Cricetomys Waterhouse 1840) in the forest zone of South Western Nigeria
- Taxonomy and biogeography of the African Pygmy mice, Subgenus Nannomys (Rodentia, Murinae, Mus) in Ivory Coast and Guinea (West Africa)
- Potential mammalian reservoirs in a bubonic plague outbreak focus in Mbulu District, northern Tanzania, in 2007
- Short Note
- Sustainable small stock farming and ecosystem conservation in southern Africa: a role for small mammals?
- Book Reviews
- Book Reviews
- Meeting announcements
- 10.1515/MAMM.2008.013
