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2020-12-21Zeitschriftenartikel DOI: 10.18452/22649
Landscape Transformation Influences Responses of Terrestrial Small Mammals to Land Use Intensity in North-Central Namibia
dc.contributor.authorStarik, Nicole
dc.contributor.authorMbango, Oskar Kandali
dc.contributor.authorBengsch, Susanne
dc.contributor.authorGöttert, Thomas
dc.contributor.authorZeller, Ulrich
dc.date.accessioned2021-03-30T15:55:32Z
dc.date.available2021-03-30T15:55:32Z
dc.date.issued2020-12-21none
dc.date.updated2021-01-08T03:55:06Z
dc.identifier.urihttp://edoc.hu-berlin.de/18452/23257
dc.descriptionThis article was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.none
dc.description.abstractIn this study, we investigate and compare the response patterns of small mammal communities to increasing land use intensity in two study areas: private farmland at the southern boundary of Etosha National Park and smallholder farmland in Tsumeb agricultural area. Species richness, community composition and a standardized capture index (RCI) are compared between sites of (a) increasing grazing pressure of ungulates (Etosha) and (b) increasing conversion of bushland to arable land (Tsumeb). Within each study area, we found clear response patterns towards increasing land use intensity. However, patterns differ significantly between the two areas. Within the less-transformed area (Etosha), high land use intensity results in a decrease in the RCI but not species richness. Small mammal communities remain relatively stable, but ecosystem functions (e.g., bioturbation, seed dispersal) are weakened. Within the more-transformed area (Tsumeb), high land use intensity leads to a decrease in species richness and increasing RCIs of two common pest species. The disappearance of a balanced community and the dramatic increase in a few pest species has the potential to threaten human livelihoods (e.g., crop damage, disease vectors). Our comparative approach clearly indicates that Gerbilliscus leucogaster is a possible candidate for an ecological indicator of ecosystem integrity. Mastomys natalensis has the potential to become an important pest species when bushland is transformed into irrigated arable land. Our results support the importance of area-specific conservation and management measures in savanna ecosystems.eng
dc.language.isoengnone
dc.publisherHumboldt-Universität zu Berlin
dc.rights(CC BY 4.0) Attribution 4.0 Internationalger
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectland useeng
dc.subjectlivestock grazingeng
dc.subjectirrigation-based croppingeng
dc.subjectlucerneeng
dc.subjectecological indicatoreng
dc.subjectGerbilliscus leucogastereng
dc.subjectEtoshaeng
dc.subjectrodent pesteng
dc.subjectSouthern Africaeng
dc.subject.ddc570 Biologienone
dc.titleLandscape Transformation Influences Responses of Terrestrial Small Mammals to Land Use Intensity in North-Central Namibianone
dc.typearticle
dc.identifier.urnurn:nbn:de:kobv:11-110-18452/23257-7
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18452/22649
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionnone
local.edoc.pages19none
local.edoc.type-nameZeitschriftenartikel
local.edoc.container-typeperiodical
local.edoc.container-type-nameZeitschrift
dc.description.versionPeer Reviewednone
dc.identifier.eissn1424-2818
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.doi10.3390/d12120488none
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.journaltitleDiversitynone
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.volume12none
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.issue12none
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.originalpublishernameMDPInone
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.originalpublisherplaceBaselnone
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.pagestart488none
bua.import.affiliationStarik, Nicole; Systematic Zoology Division, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany, nicole.starik@hu-berlin.denone
bua.import.affiliationMbango, Oskar Kandali; Department of Animal Science, University of Namibia, Windhoek 900, Namibia, ombango@unam.nanone
bua.import.affiliationBengsch, Susanne; Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Technische Universität Berlin, Str. des 17. Juni 145, 10623 Berlin, Germany, susanne.bengsch@stiftung-naturschutz.denone
bua.import.affiliationGöttert, Thomas; Systematic Zoology Division, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany, thomas.goettert@hu-berlin.denone
bua.import.affiliationZeller, Ulrich; Systematic Zoology Division, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany, ulrich.zeller@hu-berlin.denone
bua.departmentLebenswissenschaftliche Fakultätnone

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