SPECIES COMPOSITION AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF TERRESTRIAL SMALL MAMMALS IN TANOE-EHY SWAMP FOREST (SOUTH-EAST IVORY COAST): IMPLICATION FOR CONSERVATION

Tanoe-Ehy Swamp Forest (TESF) is one of the most valuable conservation sites in Ivory Coast. It harbours an exceptional biodiversity with numerous endangered plants and animals. Indeed, several recent studies have been carried out in TESF to consolidate judgment of its importance for conservation in Ivory Coast. These investigations have mentioned the presence of threatened monkeys and frogs. Currently, small mammals of the TESF remain unknown despite the consensus around their importance in natural biotopes. Yet small terrestrial mammals are known to be good indicators of the conservation status of many tropical ecosystems. This study is a preliminary exploration of terrestrial small mammal communities in the Tanoe-Ehy Swamp Forest. It aims to determine species composition and reveal their implication in the conservation of the Tanoe-Ehy Swamp Forest. Thus, the three main habitat types (dryland forests, swamp forests and raphials (Raphia-dominated community)) were sampled using conventional Sherman and Victor wooden snap traps. With a trapping effort of 8400 trap nights, 294 individuals, representing nine species of rodents and four species of shrews were collected. The rodent community was dominated by Hylomyscus simus (n = 135), followed by Praomys rostratus (n = 65) and Malacomys edwardsi (n = 18). Crocidura buettikoferi (n = 22) was the most abundant shrew. The species richness and diversity index were higher in drylands than in swamp forests and raphials. Swamp forests showed the highest number of trapped animals (n = 126), followed by the dryland forests (n = 107) and the raphials with 63 individuals. One-way ANOVA test revealed significant differences (p <= 0.05) between the abundance of terrestrial small mammals of the three sampled habitat types. Similarity indices showed that dryland and swamp forests were largely colonised by the same species. Three species are listed as threatened according to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Those are one rodent, Hylomyscus baeri, listed as Endangered (EN), and two shrews, Crocidura buettikoferi and Crocidura grandiceps, which are both Near Threatened (NT). This study reinforces the importance of TESF for fauna conservation in Ivory Coast.