Sharing space between native and invasive small mammals: Study of commensal communities in Senegal

• Published in: Ecology and Evolution
• Main Authors: Granjon, Laurent, Artige, Emmanuelle, Bâ, Khalilou, Brouat, Carine, Dalecky, Ambroise, A, Diagne, Christophe, Diallo, Mamoudou, Fossati-Gaschignard, Odile, Gauthier, Philippe, Kane, Mamadou, Husse, Laëtitia, Niang, Youssoupha, Piry, Sylvain, Sarr, Nathalie, Sow, Aliou, Duplantier, Jean-Marc
• Other Authors: Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM), BIOPASS, ISRA-UCAD, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Ouest ), Laboratoire Population-Environnement-Développement (LPED), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Sénégal (UCAD), Fundings came from the CHANCIRA (Contract “ANR-11-CEPL-0010”) and ENEMI (Contract “ANR-11-JSV7-0006”) projects. Additional funding and logistical support came from Research Unit CBGP (“Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations”)., ANR-11-CEPL-0010,CHANCIRA,CHANgements environnementaux, CIrculation de biens et de personnes : de l'invasion de réservoirs à l'apparition d'anthropozoonoses. le cas du RAt noir dans l'espace sénégalo-malien(2011), ANR-11-JSV7-0006,ENEMI,Conséquences évolutives des ennemis naturels dans des invasions biologiques majeures : le rôle des parasites dans le succès de l'invasion de deux rongeurs commensaux(2011)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: community ecology; co-occurrence; rodents; shrews; West Africa; [SDV.GEN.GPO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Genetics/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Rattus rattus
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04233563; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04233563/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04233563/file/Ecology%20and%20Evolution%20-%202023%20-%20Granjon%20-%20Sharing%20space%20between%20native%20and%20invasive%20small%20mammals%20Study%20of%20commensal.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10539

International audience Urbanization processes are taking place at a very high rate, especially in Africa. At the same time, a number of small mammal species, be they native or invasive, take advantage of human-induced habitat modifications. They represent commensal communities of organisms that cause a number of inconveniences to humans, including potential reservoirs of zoonotic diseases. We studied via live trapping and habitat characterization such commensal small mammal communities in small villages to large cities of Senegal, to try to understand how the species share this particular space. Seven major species were recorded, with exotic invasive house mice (Mus musculus) and black rats (Rattus rattus) dominating in numbers. The shrew Crocidura olivieri appeared as the main and more widespread native species, while native rodent species (Mastomys natalensis, M. erythroleucus, Arvicanthis niloticus and Praomys daltoni) were less abundant and/or more localized. Habitat preferences, compared between species in terms of room types and characteristics, showed differences among house mice, black rats and M. natalensis especially. Niche (habitat component) breadth and overlap were measured. Among invasive species, the house mouse showed a larger niche breadth than the black rat, and overall, all species displayed high overlap values. Co-occurrence patterns were studied at the global and local scales. The latter show cases of aggregation (between the black rat and native species, for instance) and of segregation (as between the house mouse and the black rat in Tambacounda, or between the black rat and M. natalensis in Kédougou). While updating information on commensal small mammal distribution in Senegal, a country submitted to a dynamic process of invasion by the black rat and the house mouse, we bring original information on how species occupy and share the commensal space, and make predictions on the evolution of these communities in a period of ever-accelerating global changes.