학술논문

Differential trappability of small mammals in three habitats of Southeastern Brazil
Document Type
article
Source
Brazilian Journal of Biology. November 2004 64(4)
Subject
marsupials
mark-recapture
population size
rodents
Brazil
Language
English
ISSN
1519-6984
Abstract
We compared the trappability of marked and unmarked individuals in species of marsupials and rodents of three tropical assemblages of small mammals in Brazil. Two studies used trapping grids, one in cerrado and the other in an Atlantic forest reserve, whereas the study in a rural area used transects. In the two studies using trapping grids, marked animals were frequently more trappable than unmarked ones, but in some species this difference was not significant. In the rural area, marked and unmarked animals did not differ significantly. The number of recaptures per resident animal was higher in the two studies using trapping grids than in the rural area where transects were used. Differences in trappability between the three studies might have been caused by differences not only in trapping design (grids vs. transects), but also in the type of trap used, bait, and habitat. Although differential trappability tends to be considered the rule in small mammals, these results suggest that trappability of marked and unmarked animals may be specific for the particular combination of sampling design, field methods, and habitat under study.