Abstract
This study was undertaken with the intention of assessing abundance, species diversity, and distribution of medium and large diurnal mammals at the Humbo Community Based Forest Area, Ethiopia. The study area was stratified into three major habitats based on the vegetation cover of the area, such as riverine forest, bushland, and open grassland. The study in each vegetation type was surveyed using the transect method. It was conducted on foot along a randomly selected transect line. A total of eight large and medium mammalian species were recorded. The species recorded were Papio anubis, Sylvicapra grimmia, Tragelaphus scriptus, Chlorocebus pygerythrus, Tragelaphus strepsiceros, Lepus fagani, Phacochorus ethiopicus, and Panthera leo. During the survey, the leading order recorded was Artiodactyla followed by Primates. In terms of relative abundance, Anubis baboon (28.4% and 28.1%) and common duiker (19.4% and 11.4%) were the most abundant species, while warthog (12.1% and 8.9%) and lion (0.7% and 0.4%) were the least abundant during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The highest number of mammalian species were distributed in bushland habitat during both wet (n = 7) and dry (n = 7) seasons. The highest Shannon-winner diversity index and evenness were obtained in the bushland habitat (1.70 and 2.21) during wet and dry seasons, respectively. Though the forest is the living place for various wild mammalian species, the conservation measures of the local community should also consider those species in line with the efforts that have been done on forest management practices.
Highlights
Mammals are one of the most important components of biodiversity in the world [1]. e great impact of mammals on their environment is largely the result of the endothermic process that requires more energy [2]
There are some researches that have been conducted on the large mammalian diversity in various parts of the world, there is a lack of ample information in various parts of Ethiopia
A total of 15 transect lines, three for open grassland, ten for bushland, and the rest two for riverine forest, were established. e transects varying in distance from 1.5 km to 4 km and 50 m to 400 m distance within each transect were established depending on the vegetation cover and topography of the area (Table 1)
Summary
Mammals are one of the most important components of biodiversity in the world [1]. e great impact of mammals on their environment is largely the result of the endothermic process that requires more energy [2]. This study was done on the medium and large mammalian species diversity and their distribution in Humbo community-based forest area, Southern Ethiopia.
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