Rodent diversity and habitat use in a protected area of Buenos Aires province, Argentina

Abstract

Habitat use of rodents is associated to environmental variables, species requirements and biologicalinteractions. The aim of this study was to analyse the macro and microhabitat use and spatial variation in the abundanceof small wild rodents that inhabit Otamendi Natural Reserve, Argentina. We studied the rodent communities in 6habitats: riparian forest, Celtis tala forest, lowland grassland, salt marsh and 2 highland grasslands. We captured a totalof 153 individual of Scapteromys aquaticus, Akodon azarae, Oxymycterus rufus, Oligoryzomys flavescens, Deltamyskempi and O. nigripes, with a trapping effort of 3636 trap-nights. The species richness is maintained by the presenceof different habitats that satisfy specific requirements from specialist and generalist species, using differentially thereserve and forming communities of different specific composition in each habitat. A differential macrohabitat use wasobserved by all species, and a certain level of selectivity at microhabitat scale was observed in individuals of 2 species.This study shows that the diversity of environments in the Otamendi Natural Reserve, which allows the maintenanceof many wild species of small rodents; confirming the high ecological and conservational value of the reserves insidean urban region.