Dietary Niche Partitioning in Sympatric Afro‐Alpine Rodents : Habitat and Seasonal Dynamics in (…)

ABSTRACT

Here, dietary niche partitioning among two sympatric rodents, Lophuromys flavopunctatus and Stenocephalemys griseicauda, within the Guassa Menz Community Conservation area was researched. Dietary composition, seasonality and habitat-specific resource use within Festuca grassland, shrubland and swamp grass habitats were determined by examining stomach content through micro histology. The findings were that both species utilised diets with a main component of vegetative plants; L. flavopunctatus, however, had a much greater invertebrate component, while S. griseicauda showed that they used plant material preferentially, especially in Festuca grassland environments. Seasonal variation in diet was highly conspicuous, and wet season diets were made up of a greater proportion of invertebrates and fruits compared to the dry season diets, which were predominantly vegetation. Habitat in swamp grass was more subject to dietary variation, which is an indication of greater resource availability. In contrast to these, niche overlap was, nonetheless, consistently high (0.86–0.98), reflecting low interspecific competition, perhaps mediated by microhabitat or temporal resource partitioning. These results highlight habitat heterogeneity and seasonally fluctuating resources as important determinants of coexistence in Afro-alpine communities. The research highlights the ecological vulnerability of these species to environmental perturbations and adds to a better understanding of niche dynamics in Afroalpine rodent assemblages.