Abstract
Small mammal communities in the Neotropics are composed largely of sigmodontine rodents. However, many questions regarding these communities remain unanswered, especially those pertaining to fine-scale sympatry and habitat selection. To address this, we examined sigmodontine community structure and vegetation in the western margin of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest and the southwestern-most extent of the Cerrado (CE) (an extensive South American savanna ecoregion) of Paraguay. Vegetation classifications were derived from satellite imagery combined with maps based on extensive ground-based surveys. The three most abundant species (Akodon montensis, Hylaeamys megacephalus, and Oligoryzomys nigripes) were found most often in microsympatry with conspecifics, and were negatively associated with other species. Akodon montensis was associated with high forest (HF), and H. megacephalus with bamboo understory (BU), whereas O. nigripes did not exhibit a habitat preference. The first two species’ distributions within the landscape were found to be driven primarily by habitat selection, and O. nigripes by a behavioral response (avoidance) to the presence of the other two species. Moreover, habitat influences whether or not a particular species associates with, or avoids, conspecifics or other species.
Acknowledgments
From the Fundación Moises Bertoni (FMB-Paraguay), numerous people aided in this project in numerous ways, especially Myriam Velasquez, Danilo Salas, Sixto Fernández, Fredy Ramírez and the guardabosques (forest guards) of the Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayú, and the Mesa Científica (Scientific Board) of the FMB. Emiliano Galeano, Germino Nuñez, and Arnaldo Alfonzo Ojeda were indispensable on the field crew. At the Secretaría del Ambiente (Paraguay), we especially thank Cristina Morales, Reinilda Duré, Martha Motte, and Bolívar Garcete for advice, guidance, and collecting permits. At Texas Tech University, we thank Heath Garner, Robert Baker, Robert Bradley, and Caleb Phillips for their collaboration in providing series of TK numbers and a final repository for frozen tissues. Christopher Yahnke and several anonymous reviewers provided useful suggestions for improvement of the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA) grant R01 AI103053 to CBJ and RDO; and the Programa Nacional de Incentivo a los Investigadores (CONACYT, Paraguay).
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