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Medium and Large Mammalian Diversity of Loka Abaya National Park, Southern Ethiopia
  • Girma Mengesha
Girma Mengesha
Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile

Abstract

We evaluated the richness, diversity and composition of medium and large mammalian community in the Loka Abaya National Park (LANP), southern Ethiopia, and how these parametrs differ among four habitat types: wooded grassland, riverine forest, hilly scrubland and wetland) and between seasons.We recorded total of 2,573 individual animals of 28 medium and large mammal species in the park. This included three globally threatened species: the endangered African wild-dog (Lycaon pictus) and the ‘vulnerable’ Leopard (Penthra pardus) and Hippopotamus (Hippopothamus amphibus). Season had little effect on species richness, diversity and composition both across and within habitat types. However, species richness across season was significantly different among the four habitat types, in declining order of: wooded grassland > riverine forest > hilly scrubland > wetland. The strongest similarity in species composition, both across and within seasons, was found between wooded grassland and riverine forest. In terms of relative abundance, mammalia assemblage of the wooded grassland and wetland habitats had more evenly distributed number of species with different relative abundance categories. Overall, Papio anubis, Chlorocebus aethiops and Tragelephus strepsiceros were the three most abundant species across habitat types. In conclusion, findings of our study reveal that LANP plays an important role in Ethiopia’s mammal conservation. Our findings will serve as a base-line information for managers of the park to make effective conservation decisions and as a baseline for researchers wishing to conduct related ecological studies.
26 Apr 2020Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
30 Apr 2020Submission Checks Completed
30 Apr 2020Assigned to Editor
21 May 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
06 Jun 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
08 Jun 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
10 Jun 20201st Revision Received
11 Jun 2020Assigned to Editor
11 Jun 2020Submission Checks Completed
11 Jun 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
18 Jun 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
24 Jun 20202nd Revision Received
25 Jun 2020Submission Checks Completed
25 Jun 2020Assigned to Editor
25 Jun 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
26 Jun 2020Editorial Decision: Accept