Abstract
The population dynamics of the small forest rice rat Microryzomys minutus, a murid rodent that occurs in the high altitudes of the northern and central Andes, was studied in disturbed and primary environments in a cloud forest of the Venezuelan Andes (Juan Pablo Peñaloza National Park, 8 degrees 11'N, 71 degrees 49'W). We collected 121 animals (66 female female and 55 male male) between 1995 and 1998, using pitfall traps with formalin. Adult males were heavier than adult females. Relative abundance was much greater in the disturbed environments (over 10 individuals in some periods) than in the primary cloud forest: 4-8 individuals. In the disturbed environments, the rats were extremely abundant in the first sampling period, and less frequent afterwards. In the cropland, abundance showed some fluctuations during the study and displayed two small abundance peaks in March-June 1997 and 1998. In the mined area, the rats had irregular fluctuations until March-June 1997 and were not recorded in July-October 1997. The occurrence of this rat in both disturbed and natural habitats confirms the wide ecological tolerance of this species.
Highlights
Microryzomys minutus (Tomes 1860) is a murid rodent that occurs in the high altitudes of the northern and central Andes (Walker 1975, Handley 1976, Carleton and Musser 1989, Eisenberg 1989, Linares 1998)
M. minutus is epidemically significant, individuals coming from populations surveyed in coffee plantations in SW Colombia have been found infected with parasites of the Leishmania braziliensis complex and might act as reservoirs of human cutaneous leishmaniasis (Alexander et al 1998)
The forest small rice rat can be considered as a common species in the cloud forest since it is frequently observed and regularly encountered by farmers who report this rat as a plague at their dwellings; the ecology of the species is almost unknown, probably due to its quite low capture rate when using standard live-trapping techniques (Bianchi-Pérez 1997)
Summary
Microryzomys minutus (Tomes 1860) is a murid rodent that occurs in the high altitudes of the northern and central Andes (Walker 1975, Handley 1976, Carleton and Musser 1989, Eisenberg 1989, Linares 1998). This species is classified as sylvan and terrestrialscansorial, and moves freely between forested and open habitat types (Hershkovitz 1972, Aagaard 1982). The aim of this research was to study the population abundance
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
