Abstract
The need for rapid development in developing countries has led to establishment of major public infrastructure even in biodiversity rich protected areas. Mikumi National Park in central Tanzania is traversed by five such major infrastructures namely an optic fibre, a busy public road, an oil pipeline, power lines and railways. We assessed diversity and abundance of small terrestrial mammals of the order Eulipotyphla and Rodentia as indicator groups in relation to impacts of such infrastructure. Animals were live trapped during wet (February-April) and dry (July- September) seasons in 2018 from three established plots along the three transects set perpendicular to each of the four infrastructures. In 10102 trap nights, we captured 453 small mammals of nine species of which Mastomys natalensis constituted 75.4 % of total catch. Diversity and abundance varied between seasons, infrastructure and plots location. Dry season had significantly higher diversity than wet season and the railway site had higher diversity than the other infrastructure. The intermediate plots (500 m from infrastructure) had significantly higher abundance of animals than immediate (0-50 m) and distant (1000 m) plots. The differences in these results can be attributed by seasonal fluctuations of animal populations, and intensity of disturbance in each infrastructure and plot. It is important to examine impacts of future infrastructure developments using small mammals.
Highlights
Infrastructure development is one of the factors affecting biodiversity in various parts of the world
In some cases like Mikumi National Park which is the focus of this study, there are five types of major infrastructures; namely an optic fibre, a public road, an oil pipeline, overhead power lines and railways
We report diversity and abundance of small mammals as indicators for disturbance of four linear infrastructures in Mikumi National Park, Eastern Tanzania
Summary
Infrastructure development is one of the factors affecting biodiversity in various parts of the world. The need for rapid development has led to establishment of public major infrastructure such as roads, railways, oil pipelines and power lines even in biodiversity rich protected areas (Costantinos, 2011). In Tanzania for example, a number of infrastructures have been established in protected areas such as public roads along the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, as well as Katavi, Serengeti, and Mikumi National Parks. In some cases like Mikumi National Park which is the focus of this study, there are five types of major infrastructures; namely an optic fibre, a public road, an oil pipeline, overhead power lines and railways. Failure of conducting an EIA might have led to paucity of baseline data which would be available for evaluation of short- and long-term effects of such infrastructure to the environment and to wildlife, after their establishment
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