Interspecific variability in the abundance of small rodents in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

THERYA, Agosto, 2010 Vol.1(2): 129-136 DOI: 10.12933/therya-10-11 Interspecific variability in the abundance of small rodents in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico Laura E. Cruz1, Consuelo Lorenzo1, Oscar G. Retana2 and Eugenia C. Sántiz1 Abstract We provide data on small rodent species abundances and community composition over a one year period at four locations comprising two contrasting habitats, agricultural areas (corn fields) and ecological reserves, in the Municipality of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. 469 captures of nine species of murid rodents were recorded in total, the most abundant of which included Reithrodontomys fulvescens, Sigmodon hispidus, and Peromyscus levipes. The highest number of captures (272) was recorded during the dry season, and the highest species richness (7) during the rainy season in an agricultural area. We found significant statistical differences in number of captures between the dry and wet seasons only for the Ecological Reserve Moxviquil. Key words: Diversity, relative abundance, small rodents, agriculture areas, natural reserves, Chiapas, Mexico. Resumen En este estudio proporcionamos datos sobre la abundancia y composición de especies de pequeños roedores durante un ciclo anual en cuatro localidades representadas por dos hábitats contrastantes: cultivos de maíz y Reservas Ecológicas, en el Municipio de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. Se registraron en total 469 capturas de nueve especies de roedores múridos, de las cuales las más abundantes fueron Reithrodontomys fulvescens, Sigmodon hispidus y Peromyscus levipes. El mayor número de capturas (272) se registró durante la época seca y la mayor riqueza de especies (7) durante la época de lluvia en un área agrícola. Encontramos diferencias significativas en el número de capturas en época seca y de lluvia solamente para la Reserva Ecológica Moxviquil. Palabras clave: Diversidad, abundancia relativa, pequeños roedores, áreas agrícolas, reservas naturales, Chiapas, México. Introduction Mammals are very important in the maintenance of diverse ecosystems, including the forest (Ramírez-Pulido and Briton 1981). Unfortunately, the progressive and continuous perturbation of natural habitat by human activities is causing both the loss of animal and plant diversity (Fey-Alvarado 1976; Sánchez-Hernández 1981), and changes in Departamento de Ecología y Sistemática Terrestres, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur s/n. San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. México CP 29290, E-mail: (CL) 2 Centro de Estudios de Desarrollo Sustentable y Aprovechamiento de la Vida Silvestre, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche. Av. Agustín Melgar s/n Ciudad Universitaria, Campeche. México, CP 24030, E-mail:retana1967@yahoo. com.mx (OGR) 1 INTERSPECIFIC VARIABILITY OF SMALL RODENTS IN CHIAPAS the distribution, abundance, and food habits of many native rodent species (John and Morales 1991). Therefore, species may adapt to new conditions, move to other suitable areas, or become locally extinct. In the last decades, the highlands of Chiapas have been exposed to a severe process of change in land use that has resulted in heavy soil erosion, overgrazing, and fragmentation of natural habitats (Alemán-Santillán 1989; Mera-Ovando 1984, 1989). Similarly, annual fluctuations of rodent abundances on agricultural areas are a common phenomenon related with seasonal and annual variations, where temperature and precipitation play important roles (Emmel 1975). Some mammals populations in tropical regions require adequate rainfall, temperature, and quantity and quality of food resources in order to grow (Bonaccorso and Humphrey 1984; Dinerstein 1986). Within the rainforests of Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, above a certain limit of rainfall and below a critical level of latitude and altitude, mammal species richness seems to reach an asymptotic maximum (Medellín 1994). In contrast, during dry periods, decreases in population density might be caused by diverse factors such as food scarcity and predation (Mills et al. 1991). Populations might time their reproductive strategies to coincide with resource availability as well (e.g., occurring concurrently with seasonal crops; Kotler et al. 1988). Studies of species richness, diversity, dominance, trophic structure and population abundance provide valuable information on the properties of communities and their interactions in space and time (Harris and Maser 1984). However, very few studies have examined these ecological aspects for Mexican rodent species. Because farming is an important activity in the local economy, and the agricultural production is locally consumed, the species of small rodents associated with crops, should be determined. However, the distribution and diversity of rodents in agricultural systems (or their possible impact on crop production) has been a poorly explored subject in the tropical areas of Mexico, particularly in Chiapas. With the aim of identifying the species of small rodents associated with crops, we estimated the rodent diversity and abundance (based on the number of captures) in highly disturbed areas (farms) of the Chiapas highlands. We compared our results with the diversity and abundance of rodents in undisturbed areas such as ecological reserves (mainly pine-oak forest) around San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Materials and methods We sampled small rodents (without marking them) from July 1998 through August 1999 monthly, using 30 to 33 Sherman live-traps per night along 300 to 330 m transects located on farms and ecological reserves. Each trap was baited with oats and vanilla essence. Farms were sampled four nights a month, while reserves were sampled four nights every two months. Locations and habitat characteristics were as follows: 1) Huitepec Ecological Reserve (Huitepec), which comprises pine-oak forests (2,340 m, 136 ha); 2) Moxviquil Ecological Reserve (Moxviquil) where oak forests predominate (2,314 m, 86 ha); 3) corn-squash plantations (C1; 2,153 m, 3 ha); and 4) corn-tomatobean plantations (C2; 2,131 m, 10 ha; Fig. 1). The coordinates of our study area are 16º 35´- 16º 46´N, 92º 27´- 92º 43´W. We identified rodent species using published taxonomic keys (Hall 1981; Reid 1997). Voucher specimens were deposited in the Mammal Collection of El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECO-SC-M) at San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The juveniles individuals were identified as not having the pelage of the adults, and for being comparatively smaller in size than the captured adult individuals of the same species. The parameters analyzed as indicators of the diversity and abundance of small rodents for each site 130 THERYA Vol.1(2): 129-136 Laura E. Cruz, Consuelo Lorenzo, Oscar G. Retana and Eugenia C. Sántiz Figure 1. Study area within the municipality of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Central Chiapas. C1 = cornpumpkin plantations; C2 = corn-tomato-bean plantations. were the number of species of sm (...truncated)