Diversidade e estrutura da comunidade de roedores (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) em diferentes fitofisionomias na Chapada das Perdizes, Minduri/Carrancas, MG

Abstract

The spatial distribution and resource partitioning have an intrinsic relation with vegetation types, presenting peculiarities in their composition and providing information on species preference. Due to the scarcity of studies and knowledge gaps in high altitude areas in southeastern Brazil, this work aimed: 1) to describe the richness, abundance, composition and structure of rodent communities in a region with an absence of mammal studies, the Chapada das Perdizes, southern Minas Gerais, and 2) to describe the spatial structure and seasonal variation in vegetation types: the montane grasslands and nebular and semideciduous forests. For the sampling Tomahawk, Sherman, pitfall and canopy traps were employed. There were four campaigns with a duration of 12 days between June 2009 and April 2010. With a sampling effort of 10,898 traps per night, 18 species of rodents, 16 sigmodontines, a murine and an echimyid were recorded. The three vegetation types evaluated were dissimilar from each other as to their rodent fauna indicating habitat preferences of some species. Euryoryzomys russatus and Thaptomys nigrita showed preference for forest environments, while Oxymycterus delator and Necromys lasiurus chose the field of altitude; Oligoryzomys nigripes and Akodon montensis shown to be habitat generalists. Diversity can be considered high when compared with other studies, however, it is expected, considering the uncertainties and a greater taxonomic sampling effort and exploration of different areas with ongoing projects, that this richness is far superior in the Chapada das Perdizes.