Getachew Gezahegn, Yazezew Dereje
Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Wollo University, P. O. Box 1145, Dessie, Ethiopia.
Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Debre Berhan University, P. O. Box 445, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia.
Scientifica (Cairo). 2024 Nov 13;2024:9587584. doi: 10.1155/sci5/9587584. eCollection 2024.
Despite the importance of the knowledge of mammals' diversity, abundance, and habitat association for designing feasible conservation measures, most of the studies so far are emphasized in protected areas which in turn affects due understanding of the faunal records and conservation endeavors. Hence, we aimed to investigate species diversity, abundance, and habitat association of medium- and large-sized mammals at Harego Forest, South Wollo, Ethiopia, from November 2020 to October 2021, covering both wet and dry seasons. We classified the study area into natural forest, bushland, and woodland habitat types based on the topography and vegetation cover. The line transect technique was employed to study the diversity, abundance, and distribution of mammals. The counting of mammals was carried out along 16 transect lines from 06:00 to 10:00 h in the morning and from 15:00 to 18:00 h late in the afternoon when most animals are active in the study area. A total of 260 individual of medium- and large-sized mammals belonging to 15 species, 10 families, and 5 orders were recorded. Among the recorded mammal species, was the most abundant species while was the least in the study area. The abundance of mammals varied significantly among the different habitat types. The highest and lowest mammalian species richness was recorded in the forest and Erica woodland habitats, respectively. The highest species similarity was observed between forest and bushland habitats. The study area is home to different species of mammals including the endemic mammals of Ethiopia that urges conservation stakeholders to design effective conservation measures to sustain the habitat and the mammalian species.
尽管了解哺乳动物的多样性、数量及其栖息地关联对于制定可行的保护措施至关重要，但迄今为止，大多数研究都集中在保护区，这反过来影响了对动物区系记录和保护工作的全面理解。因此，我们旨在调查2020年11月至2021年10月期间，埃塞俄比亚南沃洛哈雷戈森林中大中型哺乳动物的物种多样性、数量及其栖息地关联，涵盖雨季和旱季。我们根据地形和植被覆盖情况，将研究区域划分为天然林、灌木丛和林地等栖息地类型。采用样线法研究哺乳动物的多样性、数量和分布情况。在上午06:00至10:00以及下午15:00至18:00，沿着16条样线对哺乳动物进行计数，这两个时段是研究区域内大多数动物活跃的时间。共记录到260只属于15个物种、10个科和5个目的大中型哺乳动物。在记录的哺乳动物物种中，[具体物种1]是研究区域内数量最多的物种，而[具体物种2]是数量最少的。不同栖息地类型中哺乳动物的数量差异显著。森林和埃里卡林地栖息地分别记录到最高和最低的哺乳动物物种丰富度。森林和灌木丛栖息地之间的物种相似度最高。该研究区域是包括埃塞俄比亚特有哺乳动物在内的不同哺乳动物物种的家园，这促使保护利益相关者制定有效的保护措施，以维持栖息地和哺乳动物物种。
