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Linking changes in small mammal communities to ecosystem functions in an agricultural landscape

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Abstract

Global increases in agricultural production have significant implications for biodiversity and ecosystem processes. In southern Africa, sugarcane production has converted native vegetation into agricultural monocultures. We examined functional group abundance along a conservation-agriculture gradient in the Lowveld of Swaziland. We captured small mammals representing 4 functional groups: omnivores, insectivores, granivores, and herbivores and found evidence of distinct changes in small mammal functional groups across the conservation-agriculture boundary. Granivores declined with increasing distance into the sugarcane and were completely absent at 375 m from the boundary while omnivores increased in the sugarcane. Insectivores and herbivores showed no differences between the two land uses; however, during the dry season, there were significantly more insectivores at the conservation-agriculture interface than in the conservation lands. Shifts in small mammal communities have clear implications for ecosystem processes as the removal of granivores from savannah systems can drastically alter vegetative structure and potentially lead to shrub encroachment via reduced levels of seed predation, while abundant omnivorous small mammals can cause significant crop damage and increase the prevalence of vector borne diseases in the environment.

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  1. Zachary M. Hurst

    Present address: Present address: Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, 2138 TAMU, College Station, 77843, TX, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843, TX, USA

    Zachary M. Hurst & Nova J. Silvy

  2. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Robert A. McCleery

  3. Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843, TX, USA

    Bret A. Collier

  4. Department of Ecology & Resource Management, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, 0950, Thohoyandou, South Africa

    Peter J. Taylor

  5. SARChI Chair on Biodiversity Value & Change in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve and Core Member of Centre for Invasion Biology, School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences, P Bag X5050, 0950, Thhoyandou, South Africa

    Peter J. Taylor

  6. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, 4000, Durban, South Africa

    Peter J. Taylor

  7. All Out Africa Research Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Swaziland, Private Bag 4, Kwaluseni, Swaziland

    Ara Monadjem

  8. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag 20, 0028, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa

    Ara Monadjem

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Hurst, Z.M., McCleery, R.A., Collier, B.A. et al. Linking changes in small mammal communities to ecosystem functions in an agricultural landscape. Mamm Biol 79, 17–23 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2013.08.008

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