Movement distances for four small mammals in two Atlantic forests fragments, Southern Brazil

By

Lima, Daniela Oliveira de
Braun, Luana Gabriele Arenhart
Skupien, Fabrício Luiz
Rodrigues, Daniele Pereira
Sausen, Jady De Oliveira

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-1-14

Original Publication

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

Volume

16

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

11--18

Subjects

Akodon montensis , Didelphis albiventris , distances between successive captures , Oligoryzomys nigripes , Sooretamys angouya

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Brazil Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.16.e59669

 

Abstract

Animal movement has an important role in individual performance, species reproduction, population demography, and conservation, especially in fragmented landscapes. The distance moved by an individual may vary depending on individual needs, such as the search for food resources and sexual partners. Here we investigated which factors affect the distances between successive captures (hereafter DSC) for Akodon montensis, Oligoryzomys nigripes, Sooretamys angouya, and Didelphis albiventris. This study was conducted from April 2015 to October 2016 in two fragments in the south of Atlantic Forest biome through capture, mark and recapture technique. DSC was analyzed using Generalized Linear Models with Poisson distribution where the independent variables were sex, whether the animal was active or not in terms of reproduction, body weight, and climatic season. The mean DSC was greater for D. albiventris (44.6 ± 28.8 m), followed by S. angouya (31.9 ± 25.7 m), O. nigripes (25.8 ± 22.5 m) and A. montensis (18.9 ± 22.0 m). Males of all species moved larger DSC than females. Considering the rodents, reproductive animals also moved larger DSC than non-reproductive animals. Sex may have masked the effect of body weight, as males tend to be larger than females. Climatic effects were tested for A. montensis and O. nigripes, however, with diverse effects.