Abstract
Knowledge of the faunal diversity, abundance and habitat preference are basics for the status determination and proposing appropriate conservation measures. A survey was conducted to assess the diversity, relative abundance and habitat association of medium and large-sized mammals of the Dati Wolel National Park, Western Ethiopia from September 2012 to April 2013. It was hypothesized that the area is rich in mammalian species that prefer to live in grassland and woodland close to water source. Four habitat types were assessed during the study (wetland, woodland, riverine forest and grassland). Line transect survey method was used to collect data in the four sampled habitats. A total of 28 mammalian species were recorded. Woodland was the habitat with the most diversity of mammals (H’ =2.643) followed by riverine forest (H’ = 1.60677), and the wetland was considered the habitat with the least diversity of species (H’= 1.04086). Hippopotamus amphibius (hippopotamus; 43.92%) and Syncerus caffer (African buffalo; 33.3%) were the most abundant species, while Mellivora capensis (honey badger) and Ichneumia albicauda (black backed jackal) were the least observed (0.099%, each). The greatest species similarity was recorded between woodland and grassland (SI=0.76) and the lowest was between woodland and wetland (SI= 0.4). Thorough inventory for faunal diversity, involving multiple seasons and all vertebrates, strengthening the now loose park management by involving the local people will ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem in supporting the riche biodiversity components. Key words: Diversity indices, evenness, habitat preference, mammals, species richness, transect lines.
Highlights
The mammalian fauna of Ethiopia is under study (Bekele and Yalden, 2014)
Endemism even occurs at the level of genera with six endemic genera of mammals recorded so far of which four are monotypic (Mega-dendromus, Muriculus, Nilopegamys, and Theropithecus) and the other endemic genera are
The identified mammals were grouped as common, uncommon, and rare according to Hillman (1993)
Summary
The mammalian fauna of Ethiopia is under study (Bekele and Yalden, 2014). Yet, with about 320 species currently recorded, the country is one of Africa's most diverse nations for mammals (Vreugdenhil et al, 2012). As a result of these, most populations of the medium and large sized mammals are severely depleted and difficult to see almost everywhere in the country, including most protected areas. These issues are crucial when it comes to the young wildlife protected areas. As there was no well-established regulation for such activity associated with poor enforcement of the existing legislation, the mammalian resources were severely threatened (Young, 2010) To correct these problems, the area was upgraded to the regional park level in 2008 and to the national park status with all the logistics in 2010.
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