Land fauna composition of small mammals of a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Barros-Battesti, Darci Moraes; Martins, Rosana; Bertim, Carlos Roberto; Yoshinari, Natalino Hajime; Bonoldi, Virginia L.N.; Leon, Elaine P.; Miretzki, Michel; Schumaker, Teresinha T.S.

doi:10.1590/S0101-81752000000100021

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest small mammal land fauna, except bats, and the abiotic factors that might have an influence on its composition, were studied in the Itapevi County, State of Sao Paulo, a forested region, partly altered by antropic action, from January, 1995 to June, 1996. The trapping effort consisted of 2,888 trap-nights, resulting in a 4.6% trapping success and consisted of monthly trappings, for five consecutive days. During this period, 134 specimens were captured, of which 46.3% were Didelphimorphia and 53.7% were Rodentia. Eleven species were registered: two Didelphimorphia: Didelphis marsupialis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Marmosops incanus (Lund, 1841), and nine Rodentia: Akodon cursor (Winge, 1887), Bolomys lasiurus (Lund, 1841), Oxymycterus hispidus Pictet, 1843, Oxymycterus nasutus (Waterhouse, 1837), Oligoryzomys nigripes (Olfers, 1818), Oryzomys angouya (Fischer, 1814), Raltus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769), Euryzygomatomys spinosus (G. Fischer, 1814) and Cavia aperea Erxleben, 1777. The relative density indices were correlated with meteorological data by Spearman and Pearson coefficients. For marsupials these correlations were not significant. For rodents, the correlations were significant and directly related to lower temperature and rainfall indices (p<0.05). During the dry season the occurrence of small mammals was 50% greater than during the wet season, probably due to foraging strategies in the studied fragment of Atlantic Forest.

Small mammals; marsupial; rodent; Atlantic Forest

Land fauna composition of small mammals of a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti^I; Rosana Martins^I; Carlos Roberto Bertim^I; Natalino Hajime Yoshinari^II; Virginia L.N. Bonoldi^II; Elaine P. Leon^II; Michel Miretzki^III; Teresinha T.S. Schumaker^IV

^ILaboratório de Artrópodes, Instituto Butantan. Avenida Vital Brazil 1500, 05503-900 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil. E-mail: dbattest@usp.br

^IIDepartamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo. Avenida Dr. Arnaldo 455, 01246-903, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil

^IIISeção de Mastozoologia, Museu de História Natural Capão da Imbuia, Prefeitura Municipal de Curitiba. Rua Benedito Conceição 407, 82810-080, Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil E-mail: bigfox@milenio.com.br

^IVDepartamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo. Avenida Lineu Prestes 1374, 05508-900 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil

ABSTRACT

The Atlantic Forest small mammal land fauna, except bats, and the abiotic factors that might have an influence on its composition, were studied in the Itapevi County, State of Sao Paulo, a forested region, partly altered by antropic action, from January, 1995 to June, 1996. The trapping effort consisted of 2,888 trap-nights, resulting in a 4.6% trapping success and consisted of monthly trappings, for five consecutive days. During this period, 134 specimens were captured, of which 46.3% were Didelphimorphia and 53.7% were Rodentia. Eleven species were registered: two Didelphimorphia: Didelphis marsupialis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Marmosops incanus (Lund, 1841), and nine Rodentia: Akodon cursor (Winge, 1887), Bolomys lasiurus (Lund, 1841), Oxymycterus hispidus Pictet, 1843, Oxymycterus nasutus (Waterhouse, 1837), Oligoryzomys nigripes (Olfers, 1818), Oryzomys angouya (Fischer, 1814), Raltus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769), Euryzygomatomys spinosus (G. Fischer, 1814) and Cavia aperea Erxleben, 1777. The relative density indices were correlated with meteorological data by Spearman and Pearson coefficients. For marsupials these correlations were not significant. For rodents, the correlations were significant and directly related to lower temperature and rainfall indices (p<0.05). During the dry season the occurrence of small mammals was 50% greater than during the wet season, probably due to foraging strategies in the studied fragment of Atlantic Forest.

Key words: Small mammals, marsupial, rodent, Atlantic Forest

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. This work was supported, in part, by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq). We thank Dr. Paulo De Marco Jr., Ecology Section of the Biology Department of the Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Minas Gerais, for the review of an earlier version of this manuscript; Mr. Marcos Moraes Silva, president of the Associacao dos Amigos de Transurb, for collection opportunity, and Mr. Luiz Pereira da Silva, technician of the Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas - Universidade de Sao Paulo, for helping us in the field work.

Recebido em 22. I. 1999; aceito em 22. II. 2000.

August, P.V. 1983. The role of habitat complexity and heterogeneity in structuring tropical mammal communities. Ecology 64: 1495-1507.
Bergallo, H.G. 1994. Ecology of a small mammal community in an Atlantic Forest area in Southeastern Brazil. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ. 29: 197-217.
Cerqueira, R; R. Gentile; F.A.S. Fernandez & P.S. d'Andrea. 1993. A five-year population study of an assemblage of small mammals in Southeastern Brazil. Mammalia 57: 507-517.
Crespo, J.A. 1966. Ecología de una comunidad de roedores silvestres en el patido de Rojas, Provincia de Buenos Aires. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat. Bernardino Rivadaria, Ecologia, 1: 79-134.
Davis, D.E. 1945. The annual cycle of plants, mosquitos, birds and mammals in two Brazilian forests. Ecol. Monog. 15: 244-295.
Dietz, J.M. 1983. Notes on the natural history of some small mammals in central Brazil. Jour. Mamm. 64: 521-523.
Fonseca, G.A.B. 1985. The vanishing Brazilian Atlantic forest. Biol. Conserv. 34: 17-34.
Fonseca, G.A.B. & M.C.M. Kierulff. 1989. Biology and natural history of Brazilian Atlantic Forest small mammals. Bull. Florida St. Mus. 34: 99-152.
Gardner, A.L. 1993. Order Didelphimorphia, p. 15-23. In: D.E. Wilson & D.M. Reeder (Eds). Mammals species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, 2^lld ed., 1207.
Glass, G.V. & J.C. Stanley. 1980. Metodos estatisticos aplicados a las ciencias sociales Spaña, Editorial Prentice/Hall International, 597p.
Julien Laferriere, D. & M. Atramentowicz. 1990. Feeding and reproduction of three didelphid marsupials in two neotropical forests (French Guiana). Biotropica 22: 404-415.
Klopfer, P.H. & R. Mac Arthur. 1960. Niche size and faunal diversity. Amer. Naturalist 94: 293-300.
Kravetz, F.O. 1972. Estudio del régimen alimentario, períodos de actividad y otros rasgos ecológicos en una población de "Raton hocicudo" (Oxymycterus rufusplatensis, Thomas) de Punta Lara. Acta Zool. Lilloana 29: 201-213.
Langguth, A. 1963. Las espécies uruguayas del género Oryzomys (Rodentia - Cricetidae). Comm. Zool. Mus. Hist. Nat. Montevideo 99: 1-23.
Mittermeier, R.A; A.F. Coimbra-Filho; J.D. Constable; A.B. Rylands & C. Valle. 1982. Conservation of primates in the Atlantic forest of Eastern Brazil. Int. Zoo. Yearbook 22: 2-17.
Musser, G.G.; M.D. Carleton; E.M. Brothers & A.L. Gardner. 1998. Systematic studies of oryzomyine rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae): diagnoses and distributions of species formerly assigned to Oryzomys "capita". Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 236: 1-376.
O'Connell, M.A. 1989. Population dynamics of neotropical small mammals in seasonal habitats. Jour. Mamm. 70: 532-548.
Olmos, F. 1991. Observations on the behavior and population dynamics of some Brazilian Atlantic Forest rodents. Mammalia 55: 555-565.
Paglia, A.P.; P. de Marco Jr.; F.M. Costa; R.F. Pereira & G. Lessa. 1995. Heterogeneidade estrutural e diversidade de pequenos mamiferos em um fragmento de mata secundaria de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Revta bras. Zool. 12: 67-79.
Pereira, J.S.C. & W.O. Bussab. 1985. Tabuas de estatística São Paulo, Harbra Harper & Row do Brasil, 20p.
Ponçano, W.L.; C.D.R. Carneiro; C.A. Bistrichi; F.F.M. Almeida & F.L. Prandini. 1981. Mapa geomorfológico do Estado de São Paulo. São Paulo, Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas do Estado de São Paulo, 94p.
Setzer, J. 1949. Os solos do Estado de São Paulo. Rio de Janeiro, Biblioteca Geográfica Brasileira, IBGE, Vol. 6., 387p.
Stalings, J.R. 1989. Small mammal inventories in an eastern Brazilian park. Bull. Florida St. Mus. 34: 153-200.
Vickery, W.Z. & J.R. Bider. 1981. The influence of weather on rodent activity. Jour. Mammal. 62: 140-145.
Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder. 1993. Mammal species of the world. A taxonomic and geographic reference Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 2^nd ed., 1207p.
Zar, J.H. 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 2^nd ed., 620p.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
22 May 2009
Date of issue
Mar 2000

History

Received
22 Jan 1999
Accepted
22 Feb 2000

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] August, P.V. 1983. The role of habitat complexity and heterogeneity in structuring tropical mammal communities. Ecology 64: 1495-1507.

[2] Bergallo, H.G. 1994. Ecology of a small mammal community in an Atlantic Forest area in Southeastern Brazil. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ. 29: 197-217.

[3] Cerqueira, R; R. Gentile; F.A.S. Fernandez & P.S. d'Andrea. 1993. A five-year population study of an assemblage of small mammals in Southeastern Brazil. Mammalia 57: 507-517.

[4] Crespo, J.A. 1966. Ecología de una comunidad de roedores silvestres en el patido de Rojas, Provincia de Buenos Aires. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat. Bernardino Rivadaria, Ecologia, 1: 79-134.

[5] Davis, D.E. 1945. The annual cycle of plants, mosquitos, birds and mammals in two Brazilian forests. Ecol. Monog. 15: 244-295.

[6] Dietz, J.M. 1983. Notes on the natural history of some small mammals in central Brazil. Jour. Mamm. 64: 521-523.

[7] Fonseca, G.A.B. 1985. The vanishing Brazilian Atlantic forest. Biol. Conserv. 34: 17-34.

[8] Fonseca, G.A.B. & M.C.M. Kierulff. 1989. Biology and natural history of Brazilian Atlantic Forest small mammals. Bull. Florida St. Mus. 34: 99-152.

[9] Gardner, A.L. 1993. Order Didelphimorphia, p. 15-23. In: D.E. Wilson & D.M. Reeder (Eds). Mammals species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press, 2^lld ed., 1207.

[10] Glass, G.V. & J.C. Stanley. 1980. Metodos estatisticos aplicados a las ciencias sociales Spaña, Editorial Prentice/Hall International, 597p.

[11] Julien Laferriere, D. & M. Atramentowicz. 1990. Feeding and reproduction of three didelphid marsupials in two neotropical forests (French Guiana). Biotropica 22: 404-415.

[12] Klopfer, P.H. & R. Mac Arthur. 1960. Niche size and faunal diversity. Amer. Naturalist 94: 293-300.

[13] Kravetz, F.O. 1972. Estudio del régimen alimentario, períodos de actividad y otros rasgos ecológicos en una población de "Raton hocicudo" (Oxymycterus rufusplatensis, Thomas) de Punta Lara. Acta Zool. Lilloana 29: 201-213.

[14] Langguth, A. 1963. Las espécies uruguayas del género Oryzomys (Rodentia - Cricetidae). Comm. Zool. Mus. Hist. Nat. Montevideo 99: 1-23.

[15] Mittermeier, R.A; A.F. Coimbra-Filho; J.D. Constable; A.B. Rylands & C. Valle. 1982. Conservation of primates in the Atlantic forest of Eastern Brazil. Int. Zoo. Yearbook 22: 2-17.

[16] Musser, G.G.; M.D. Carleton; E.M. Brothers & A.L. Gardner. 1998. Systematic studies of oryzomyine rodents (Muridae: Sigmodontinae): diagnoses and distributions of species formerly assigned to Oryzomys "capita". Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 236: 1-376.

[17] O'Connell, M.A. 1989. Population dynamics of neotropical small mammals in seasonal habitats. Jour. Mamm. 70: 532-548.

[18] Olmos, F. 1991. Observations on the behavior and population dynamics of some Brazilian Atlantic Forest rodents. Mammalia 55: 555-565.

[19] Paglia, A.P.; P. de Marco Jr.; F.M. Costa; R.F. Pereira & G. Lessa. 1995. Heterogeneidade estrutural e diversidade de pequenos mamiferos em um fragmento de mata secundaria de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Revta bras. Zool. 12: 67-79.

[20] Pereira, J.S.C. & W.O. Bussab. 1985. Tabuas de estatística São Paulo, Harbra Harper & Row do Brasil, 20p.

[21] Ponçano, W.L.; C.D.R. Carneiro; C.A. Bistrichi; F.F.M. Almeida & F.L. Prandini. 1981. Mapa geomorfológico do Estado de São Paulo. São Paulo, Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas do Estado de São Paulo, 94p.

[22] Setzer, J. 1949. Os solos do Estado de São Paulo. Rio de Janeiro, Biblioteca Geográfica Brasileira, IBGE, Vol. 6., 387p.

[23] Stalings, J.R. 1989. Small mammal inventories in an eastern Brazilian park. Bull. Florida St. Mus. 34: 153-200.

[24] Vickery, W.Z. & J.R. Bider. 1981. The influence of weather on rodent activity. Jour. Mammal. 62: 140-145.

[25] Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder. 1993. Mammal species of the world. A taxonomic and geographic reference Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 2^nd ed., 1207p.

[26] Zar, J.H. 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 2^nd ed., 620p.