Demography, reproductive biology and diet of the bushveld gerbil Tatera leucogaster (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in the Lake Rukwa valley, south-western Tanzania

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dc.creatorODHIAMBO, Richard O.
dc.creatorMakundi, Rhodes H.
dc.creatorLEIRS, Herwig
dc.creatorVERHAGEN, Ron
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-22T07:18:07Z
dc.date.accessioned2025-08-05T07:29:13Z
dc.date.available2016-11-22T07:18:07Z
dc.date.created2016-11-22T07:18:07Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.description.abstractSeasonal abundance, reproductive biology and feeding ecology of the bushveld gerbil Tatera leucogaster (Peters, 1852) were investigated in small-scale maize field–fallow land mosaics in south-western Tanzania. The gerbils were collected over a 2-year period using Sherman live and Victor hold-fast snap traps in permanent 4.5-ha grids. A total of 664 individuals were captured over 13 650 trap nights, giving an overall trap success rate of 4.9%. Trap success varied between seasons with and without crops in the field but not between habitat types. At this site, the breeding activity of this species is seasonal. All individuals whose stomachs were analyzed ate a wide range of items, indicating omnivory in this species at this site; however, seeds were the most preferred diet category, with a mean contribution of 50.4%, followed by arthropods, with a mean contribution of 25.7%. Other plant materials became important during the very dry periods.
dc.identifierhttps://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/960
dc.identifier.urihttp://repository.costech.or.tz/handle/20.500.14732/98110
dc.languageen
dc.publisherBlackwell Publishing
dc.subjectFeeding ecology
dc.subjectReproduction
dc.subjectSeasonal abundance
dc.subjectTatera leucogaster
dc.subjectLake Rukwa valley
dc.subjectSouth-western Tanzania
dc.titleDemography, reproductive biology and diet of the bushveld gerbil Tatera leucogaster (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in the Lake Rukwa valley, south-western Tanzania
dc.typeArticle

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