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Annual flooding, survival and recruitment in a rodent population from the Niger River plain in Mali

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2008

Laurent Crespin ,
Yves Papillon ,
Doukary Abdoulaye ,
Laurent Granjon  and
Bruno Sicard
Laurent Crespin*
Affiliation:
Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations (UMR 022), IRD, Campus international Baillarguet CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, France
Yves Papillon
Affiliation:
Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations (UMR 022), IRD, Campus international Baillarguet CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, France
Doukary Abdoulaye
Affiliation:
Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations (UMR 022), IRD, Campus international Baillarguet CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, France
Laurent Granjon
Affiliation:
Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations (UMR 022), IRD, Campus international Baillarguet CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, France
Bruno Sicard
Affiliation:
Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations (UMR 022), IRD, Campus international Baillarguet CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez cedex, France
*
1Corresponding author. Email: laurent.crespin@ua.ac.be
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Abstract

Multimammate rats of the genus Mastomys are among the most widespread pest species in Africa. Previous studies of Mastomys population dynamics have generally reported variation in abundance but few have investigated the demographic parameters underlying this variation, and in particular recruitment. Capture-mark-recapture data were collected for Mastomys erythroleucus several times a year from 2000 to 2004 at a site annually flooded by the Niger River in Mali. Closed-population models were used to estimate population abundance. Both seniority (a parameter inversely linked to recruitment) and survival probabilities were estimated by capture-mark-recapture models. The impacts of water level, population abundance and cumulative rainfall were assessed for each demographic parameter. Survival probabilities (local survival) were negatively correlated with water level, suggesting that rodents emigrated out of the study zone during flooding. As for seniority probabilities, 86% of temporal variation was explained by a model with season, abundance, water level and the interaction between abundance and water level. This suggests that density-dependence in recruitment was mediated by intraspecific competition for food or refuge from floodwaters, or by predation. The flood of the Niger River greatly impacts Mastomys erythroleucus population dynamics, affecting both survival and seniority probabilities.

Keywords

abundancecapture recapturedensity-dependenceMastomys erythroleucusrecruitmentsenioritysmall mammalsurvivaltrap-happinessWest Africa
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , July 2008 , pp. 375 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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References

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