Ecologie des populations de rongeurs de Bandia (Sénégal) en zone sahélo-soudanienne

The rodent population of the Bandia forest, a dry deciduous woodland S.E. from Dakar, Senegal, has been studied from 1971 to 1973. Comparisons were made with adjacent areas under cultivation. Out of the 17 species recorded in the area, five were present in large numbers : Mastomys erythroleucus, Tatera gambiana, T. guineae, Taterillus gracilis and T. pygargus. Data are given on population density, size of the home range and breeding season of these dominant species. A multivariate analysis is made of the distribution of these rodents in relation to their habitat characteristics. Each species is shown to have its distinctive environmental preferences, including the two species of Taterillus which cannot be distinguished from each other morphologically. Particular attention is given to the seasonal changes in population density, size of the home ranges and their modifications during the breeding season. All the species studied breed at the end of the rains (from September-October to January-March), and the populations consequently reach their lowest densities at the beginning of the next rainy season. At any time of the year population densities of rodents are about 10 times larger in cultivated areas than in the forest itself. The same applies to the annual net production of rodents.Hubert B. Ecologie des populations de rongeurs de Bandia (Sénégal) en zone sahélo-soudanienne. In: La Terre et La Vie, Revue d'Histoire naturelle, tome 31, n°1, 1977. pp. 33-100