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A Quantitative Study Of Diet In Three Species Of Rodents In Natural And Irrigated Savanna Fields, Safianu Rabiu, Robert K. Rose
A Quantitative Study Of Diet In Three Species Of Rodents In Natural And Irrigated Savanna Fields, Safianu Rabiu, Robert K. Rose
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
During July, 1990 - June, 1992 we collected stomach contents of necropsied rodents that totalled 494 Arvicanthis niloticus (Desmarest, 1822), 356 Mastomys natalensis (Smith, 1834) and 273 Tatera valida (Wroughton, 1906) from natural, savanna fields in Nigeria, and 528 Arvicanthis and 367 Mastomys from nearby irrigated fields, where Tatera was never trapped. The materials were processed and microscopically analyzed to determine patterns of diet selection. Sites were sampled for vegetative cover and rodent food resources. More than 90% of the stomach materials could be identified to one of four categories: dicots (vegetative), monocots (vegetative), seeds, and insects. Seeds constituted approximately …