Mammalian diversity in the relict semi-natural forest in the campus of Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT), southwester

Mammalian diversity in the relict semi-natural forest in the campus of Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT), southwester | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Mammalian diversity in the relict semi-natural forest in the campus of Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT), southwester Debere Hailu Serbesa, Tsegaye Gadisa, Gadisa Natea, Tadese Habitamu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5414246/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mammals in small fragmented habitats, particularly those in or adjacent to cities and towns could serve as population stock source with significant economic, ecological, social, cultural and conservation values. This study was conducted to assess the diversity, habitat preference and relative abundances of medium and large sized mammals in the fragmented semi-natural forest and the surrounding wetland and farmland habitats in the Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT) campus, Jimma city, from December 2018 to August, 2019. Three habitat types (forest, wetland and farmland) were identified. Line transect, sensor camera traps and indirect methods were used to collect data from all the three habitat types. A total of 15 species of medium and large sized mammals from six orders and 10 families were recorded from the area. Order Carnivora was represented by five species, Artiodatayla by four, primates by three species, while, orders Lagomorpha, Hyracoidea and Rodentia were represented by a single species each. Comparatively, species diversity was high in the farmland during the wet season (H’ = 2.52) and the least diversity was from the wetland (H’ = 1.4) during the same season. While Chlorocebus aethiopis was the most abundant (26.21%) species in all habitats, Canis aures was the least (1.4%). Despite the dominating human disturbance the small fragmented natural forest and its surrounding wetland and farmland in JIT campus still hosted diverse wildlife species signifying the value of such habitats in cities. Therefore, the authorities of JIT campus are recommended to give special attention and protect the area from any future development activities. Fragmented habitats Mammals relative abundance Species composition Species similarity Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 INTRODUCTION Ethiopia, with over 320 species of mammals, is among the wildlife rich countries in Africa. The most important feature of Ethiopian mammals is endemism. Thirty six of the recorded mammalian species are endemic and this is largely related with highlands (above 3000m) in the country (Yalden, 1983 ; Bekele & Yalden, 2014 ) and some of the endemism are at genera level (Vreugdenhil et al., 2012 ). ). There are six endemic genera of which four are monotypic (Megadendromus, Muriculus, Nilopegamys, and Theropithecus) and the other endemic genera are Desmomys and Stenocephalemys (Vreugdenhil et al., 2012 ). To conserve these unique fauna, Ethiopia has legally established 12 National Parks, 11 Wildlife Reserves, 3 Sanctuaries, 18 Controlled Hunting Areas and 69 Important Bird Areas and most faunal records of the country are from these protected areas (Abebe & Bekele, 2018 ; Chape et al., 2003 ; Zewdu & Yemesrach, 2005 ). These areas are not only act as biodiversity “banks” but also have a direct economic benefit through bringing revenues from tourism However, in Ethiopia, considerable wildlife species are outside protected areas. Globally, natural ecosystems have been altered due to anthropogenic activities largely for agriculture. Many habitats of mammals, including those in protected areas, are undergoing degradation. Most forest areas have been converted into agricultural and pastoral lands (Stoddart, 1984 ). Agriculture impacts both small and large-sized mammals through habitat fragmentation which may lead to edge effects (Rosenzweig, 2003 ; Primack, 2010 ), changes in habitat quality, and introduction of new crops or invasive species which may be of poor nutrition to mammals (Palakova et al., 2011 ). In poor countries like Ethiopia, where most of the societies depend on nature for their living, issues of conservation of wildlife resources is far from reality. This nature of the society coupled with the ever increasing demand for arable land for commercial farming intensified challenges of wildlife in the country. Encroachment is still major challenge for the protected areas in the country. In addition, development activities and urbanization are the growing challenges of the then wilderness areas of Ethiopia. Urbanization has had a profound impact on wildlife, causing habitat loss, deforestation, and rise in human-wildlife conflicts. Reports show that, response of wildlife species to urbanization related to the life history, behavioral and physiological attributes of the species promoting avoidance or tolerance. Majority of large mammals are highly impacted by habitat fragmentation and disappear from the newly urbanized areas (Croci et al. 2008 ). But still there are animals tolerating habitat fragmentation during urbanization and well established in the new human dominated ecosystem. Wildlife species that positively respond to urbanization, synanthropic species, have developed specific behavioral attributes to overcome the challenges of living in an urban environment including the generalist and omnivorous feeding habits and developing flexible behavior (Cove et al. 2019). Researchers stated that biodiversity conservation depends on the conservation of wildlife populations within fragmented landscapes (Rosenzweig, 2003 ; Lindenmayer & Fischer, 2006) including those adapted to perform in urban areas. Human induced stress may alter the life history traits of wildlife, forest fragments in urban areas continue to serve as last refugia for some and as a corridor for transient ones (Jung & Kalko, 2011 ). However, scientific reports regarding the diversity and abundance of wildlife species tolerating fragmented habitats in urban areas are rare in Ethiopia (Mohammed & Bekele, 2017 ) and most such habitats are not assessed. Forest fragment in JIT campus is one of such habitats that seemingly host such wildlife. However, the faunal composition of this fragmented natural forest fragment is not formally recorded. Therefore, the present study was aimed to fill this gap by collecting data on the diversity, relative abundance and habitat preference of mammals in forest fragment of JIT campus, Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia. THE STUDY AREA AND METHOD De scription of the study area This study was conducted in JIT campus is located at the outskirt towards the South-western end of Jimma town (the capital of Jimma Zone, southwestern Ethiopia). Jimma town is about 346 km from Addis Ababa, to the southwest and geographically located at 7°39'59.99" N 36°49'59.99" E and covers about 1402.20 ha. The study area, JIT campus has about 300 ha area. The area is traditionally classified into three habitat types; the largest portion (44.20%) is covered by wetland, serving as grazing area both for intruding livestock and resident wildlife. The natural forest fragment is the second largest habitat (38.50%) and the agricultural area within the campus covers about 17.30%. A significant sized landfill area is located at the western corner of the study area and serves as a dumpsite for domestic waste and leftover from students’ cafeteria. The area is characterized by uni-modal rainfall (having one long rain season) between May and September with a peak in August (with mean monthly rainfall of 1221.5mm). The mean annual rainfall in the area ranges between 1429 and 1935 mm, with the highest concentration in August. A marked dry season ranges from December to February. The temperature is moderately warm with a mean annual maximum of 27.80°C and mean annual minimum of 12.10°C (EMA, 2019)). Methods To determine the diversity, relative abundance and habitat preference of medium and large sized mammals of the area, a two season data were collected using line transect survey, sensor camera trap and indirect evidences. Dry season data were collected from February to April, 2019 and from June to August 2019 for the wet season. Body size was used to classify mammals as medium (between 2 and 7 kg) and large sized (all mammals over 7 kg) (Emmons and Feer, 1997 ). Transect survey A total of eight transect lines (three in wetland, three in semi-natural forest and two in farmland), representing each habitat were established and permanently surveyed during both seasons. The length of transects was 1km for wetland and forest area, and 800m for farmland. About 400m distance between any two transects for wetland and forest habitat and 300m for farmland. Surveys were conducted twice a day when the animals were mostly active; in the morning (06:00 to 10:00 am) and late in the afternoon (04:00 to 06:30 pm) in each transects (Legese et al., 2019 ). Two rounds of observation of mammals were made in March and April 2019 for the dry season and July and August 2019 in the study site for the wet season. Along transects, any large and medium sized mammalian species observed and the number of animals seen was recorded. In addition, indirect evidences such as feces, burrows, trails, pug marks, foot/hoof prints, carcasses, scent marks were also used (Mohammed and Bekele, 2017 ). Observation of mammalian species was made by the naked eyes and sometimes aided with binoculars. Own experience and local guides were used to identify species of mammals observed. Mammalian field guides (Bekele & Yalden, 2014 ; Kingdon, 2004 ; Kingdon, 1997 ; Kingdon, 1971 ) were also used for confirmation purposes. When convenient, pictures were also picked. Camera trapping Nocturnal and cryptic medium and large sized mammals were recorded using wildlife sensor cameras (Rovero et al., 2014 ). Seven wildlife sensor cameras (Bushnell Trophy Cam Model #S.119537C, 2013, USA) were set at high potential sites for detecting mammals (example in wildlife trails, burrows, caves and a landfill site) (Jansen et al., 2014 ). In each habitat, cameras were tied in appropriate sized tree, about 60 cm off the ground facing trails, burrows and in open areas to cover wider field of visions. Cameras were set following the procedures in Jansen et al., ( 2014 ) and Srbek-Araujo and Chiarello, ( 2005 ) to maximize the capture success for both medium and large animals. Cameras were programmed to take sequential videos for 30 seconds, with a second interval and operate for 24hrs. At each habitat type, cameras were set active for 10 days and checked daily for recorded videos and battery replacement. This activity was done in February 2019 for dry season and in August 2019 for wet season. The captured species were identified using the guides. 3.5 Data analysis Species diversity of mammals was computed using the Shannon-Wiener Index (H’) of diversity (Shannon and Wiener, 1949). H’= -Σ [{ni/N} x ln[{ni/N}]; Where ni = number of individuals of each species (the i th species) and N = total number of individuals for the site, and ln = the natural log of the number Species evenness, which represents the distributional patterns of mammals, was calculated using the equation of Begon et al ., (1996). J = H’/Hmax Where H’ is Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Hmax = ln(S) and S is the number of species. Simpson similarity index (SI) was computed to assess the similarity between the habitats with reference to the composition of mammals observed. SI = nC/I + II + III Where SI = Simpson’s similarity index, C = the number of common species to all habitats, n = the number of habitats, I = the number of species in habitat one, II = the number of species in habitat two, III = the number of species in habitat three. The relative abundance of a species was calculated by dividing the number of records of each species by the total number of records of all species. Percentage of occurrence was calculated to determine whether the mammals were common, uncommon and rare. The observed mammals were categorized as common, if they were seen during all of the surveys (probability of seeing is 100% every time of the visit), uncommon if probability of seeing is more than 50% and rare if probability of seeing is less than 50% (Hillman, 1993 ; Gonfa et al., 2015 ). RESULTS Species richness In the present study, a total of 15 mammalian species (two medium and 13 large-sized mammals) were identified throughout the study period. The identified mammalian species belong to six orders and 10 families. Order Carnivora was represented by five species, order Artiodactyla with four and order Primate with three species. Orders Lagomorpha, Hyracoidea and Rodentia were represented by one species each (Table 1 ). Among the mammalian species identified, six species were sighted directly during the study period, six species from camera trap records, and three species were identified by the combination of two of the above methods (Table 1 ). Table 1 Medium and large-sized mammalian species recorded from the study area Order Family Scientific Name Common Name Identification Methods Lagomorpha Leporidae Lepus starcki Stark’s hare Visual Primate Cercopitheci Colobus guereza Colobus monkey Visual Papio anubis Olive baboon Visual Chlorocebus aethiopis Vervet monkey Visual Artiodactyla Bovidae Redunca redunca Bohor Reedbuck Visual Sylvicapra grimmia Common duiker Visual + CT Suidae Phacochoerus africanus Common warthog Visual + CT Potamochoerus larvatus Bush pig CT Carnivora Viverridae Genetta genetta Common genet CT Civetticitis civetta African civets CT Canidae Canis aures Common jackal CT Hyaenidae Corcuta carcuta Spotted hyena CT + faeces Hyrpestidae Herpestes sanguineus Slender Mongoose CT Hyracoidea Procaviidae Hetro hyrax brucei Bush hyrax Visual Rodentia Hystricidae Hystrix cristata Crested porcupine CT CT = camera trap A total of 641 individuals of medium and large-sized mammals were sighted in the study area (352 during the dry season and 289 during wet season). Forest habitat contained the highest (164) number of individuals of mammals during the dry season followed by farmland with 150 individuals in the same season. The least number of individual records was obtained from wetland with 27 individuals of mammals during the wet season. For combined season, 256 and 295 individuals of mammals were recorded from farmland and forest area respectively, and the least number of individuals (98 individuals) were recorded from wetland (Fig. 2 ). In terms of species composition, the highest number of medium and large mammalian species (15 species) was recorded from the forest during both seasons and from farmland during the wet season. Farmland took the second position by supporting 14 species during dry season. The least number of species was recorded from wetland with 10 and 5 species during the dry and wet season respectively (Fig. 3 ). Species diversity indexes of medium and large sized mammals Among the three habitat types, farmland supported the greatest diversity of medium and large-szed mammals (H’ = 2.52 with evenness J = 0.93) during the wet season. The second diversified habitat was forest area with H’ = 2.25 and J = 0.83, while the least was recorded from wetland (H’ = 1.4, and J = 0.87) during the wet season. During the dry season, the forest area had the highest diversity of mammals with H’ = 2.29 and evenness J = 0.85. The second diversified habitat was wetland with H’ = 2.1 and J = 0.91 while the least mammalian diversity was recorded in farmland (H’ = 2.02) and (J = 0.77) (Table 2 ). Table 2 Species diversity indexes (H’) and evenness (J) of medium and large sized mammals in the three habitat types Habitat types Number of species Number of individuals SWI (H' ) H 'max Evenness (J) Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Wetland 10 5 71 27 2.1 1.4 2.3 1.61 0.91 0.87 Farmland 14 15 150 98 2.02 2.52 2.64 2.71 0.77 0.93 Forest area 15 15 131 164 2.29 2.25 2.71 2.71 0.85 0.83 For the combined seasons, the species diversity of medium and large mammalian species was nearly similar in the farmland and the forest area with the H’ =2.31(J = 0.85) and 2.32 (J = 0.86) respectively. The least diversity was obtained from the wetland with H`= 2.05 and J = 0.89 (Table 3 ). Table 3 Diversity indices (H`) and evenness (J) of medium and large mammals Habitat type Number of species Number of individuals Diversity (H’) H’max Evenness (J) Wetland 10 98 2.05 2.3 0.89 Farmland 15 248 2.31 2.71 0.85 Forest area 15 295 2.32 2.71 0.86 Relative abundance and habitat preference of medium and large mammals From the total of 352 individuals of mammals recorded during the dry season, the most abundant species was vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus aethiopis) (30.68%). The species was also the most abundant during the wet season (20.76%). The second abundant species was olive baboon ( Papio anubis). Olive baboon was also recorded frequently during both seasons in the study area (17.9% and 17.98% during the dry and wet seasons respectively). Warthogs ( P. africanus ) were the third abundant species (9.09%) during the dry season. Spotted hyena ( C. corcuta ) and Common jackal ( C. aures ) were the least abundant mammals with less than 2% share each (Table 4). Regarding the habitat preference of mammals, the highest number of species was obtained in forest habitat both in the dry and wet seasons (15 species) followed by farmland where 14 and 15 species were recorded in dry and wet seasons respectively. However, wetland harbored less mammalian records (10 species) than the other three habitats in each seasons (Table 4). Table 10 Relative abundance of medium and large sized mammals recorded in the study area during dry and wet seasons Species Name Total No. of individuals recorded RA for each season (%) RA For combined season (%) Dry Wet Dry Wet Starks hare ( L. starcki ) 10 3 2.84 1.04 2.03 Colobus monkey ( C. abyssinicus ) 19 21 5.4 7.27 6.24 Olive baboon ( P. anubis ) 63 52 17.9 17.98 17.94 Vervet monkey( C. aethiopis) 108 60 30.68 20.76 26.21 Bohor Reedbuck (R. redunca) 14 13 3.98 4.5 4.21 African civets ( C. civetta ) 26 24 7.39 8.31 7.8 Warthog ( P. africanus ) 32 24 9.09 8.31 8.74 Spotted hyena ( C. carcuta ) 5 6 1.42 2.08 1.72 Common genet ( G. genetta) 18 17 5.11 5.88 5.46 Common jackal ( C. aures ) 5 4 1.42 1.38 1.4 Common duiker ( S. grimmia ) 11 21 3.13 7.27 4.99 Bush pig ( P. larvatus) 8 11 2.27 3.81 2.96 Crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata) 9 12 2.56 4.15 3.28 Bush hyrax ( Hetro hyrax brucei) 10 9 2.84 3.11 2.96 Slender Mongoose (H. senguineus) 14 12 3.97 4.15 4.06 Total 352 289 100 100 100 Species similarity of medium and large-sized mammals among the three habitat types The highest mammalian species similarity was observed between the farmland and the forest during the wet season (SI = 1.0), followed by the species between the same habitats during dry season (SI = 0.97). However, less similarity of mammalian species was observed between the wetland and the forest and between the wetland and the farmland during the wet season with the SI value of 0.5 each (Table 5 ). Table 5 Similarity of medium and large mammalian species between habitats during wet and dry seasons Habitat Wetland Farmland Forest area Dry Wet Dry Wet Dry Wet Wetland - - 0.75 0.5 0.8 0.5 Farmland - - - - 0.97 1.0 Forest area - - - - - - Occurrences of mammals Based on occurrence, the medium and large sized mammals were grouped in to common, uncommon and rare species. Of the mammalian species recorded during the study period, four species (26.7%) were common, six species (40%) were uncommon, and five species (33.3%) were rare (Table 6 ). Table 6 Occurrence of medium and large sized mammals in the study area Common Uncommon Rare Colobus monkey African civets Starks hare Vervet monkey Warthog Spotted hyena Common duiker Common genet Common jackal Olive baboon Crested porcupine Bush pig Bohor Reedbuck Bush hyrax Slender Mongoose Total 4 6 5 % of occurrence 26.7% 40% 33.3% DISCUSSION The number of species recorded from JIT campus fragmented forest remnant was less compared to the number of mammalian species recorded with a similar study in other areas. For example, Mohammed and Bekele ( 2017 ) recorded 22 species of mammals from a survey conducted in fragmented remnant forests around Asella Town. However, it is higher than the finding of Legese et al. ( 2019 ) who have reported 12 species from Wabe forest fragments, Gurage zone. The results of faunal composition in different habitat types of the present study area indicated that the forest contained the highest diversity of mammalian species during the dry season (H’ = 2.29). The reason for the presence of such large number of mammalian species in this habitat could probably be the availability of sufficient food and shelter for protection from predation. Similarly, a study by Dawud ( 2008 ) showed that species diversity is often high in areas where there are sufficient food and water sources. Among the three habitats of the study area, the farmland supported the highest diversity (H’ = 2.52) of mammals during wet season. The possible explanation for this might be the presence of sufficient supply of food in the area during the wet season. The low diversity (H’= 1.4) of mammalian species in the wetland during the wet season might be due to factors such as high human disturbance and less suitability of the area during this season Even, during dry season, the wetland supports only grazers, so that mammals with other feeding habits are excluded from the area. Similarly, Matias et al., ( 2011 ) showed negative correlation between habitat homogeneity and animal species diversity. Variation in the relative abundance of mammalian species in the present study area was observed between species to species and among habitats. The abundance of mammalian species is determined mainly by their food, water and shelter requirements. Vervet monkey ( C. aethiopis) was the most abundant species of mammals in the study area during both seasons (30.68% in dry and 20.76% in wet season). This species was widely distributed in all habitat types of the study area; though it appeared to be more concentrated in farmland during dry season after the crops were harvested. It was also frequently seen in large groups in the forest area during both seasons. Vervet monkeys were also frequently observed around peripheral areas including buildings of the campus. Occasionally, they come in groups to the resident areas and disturb the local community. Several studies have also reported high abundance of primates from different parts of Ethiopia. For example, Gonfa et al. ( 2015 ) reported high abundance of primates compared to other mammals from Dati Wolel National Park. Yirga and Meseret ( 2014 ) also reported similar finding from Borena-Sayint National Park. The existence of this species in various habitats is perhaps due to the high reproductive successes, diversified foraging behavior and high tolerance level to human disturbances (Negeri et al., 2015 ). Olive baboon ( Papio anubis ) was the second most abundant species in the study area during both seasons (17.9% in dry and 17.98% in wet season). The species was widely distributed in the forest area. The possible explanations for this could be the less suitability of wetland and the occupancy of farmland with crops during wet season; thus the only option is concentrating in the forest area. In addition, the high abundance of this species in forest area might probably be associated to the availability of different plant species which could be used as the source of food and shelter for the animals. Regarding species similarity among the habitats of the study area, the highest species similarity was obtained between farmland and the forest area with SI = 1.0 during wet season. This indicated that 100% of the recorded mammalian species of the study area were common to the two habitats. The second highest species similarity was also recorded between farmland and forest area during the dry season (SI = 0.97). This also revealed that 97% of the species were common to both habitats in this season. High species similarity might be due to the presence of similar resource suitable for mammals and the proximity of the two habitats, as mammals could move freely from one habitat to the other. The least species similarity was recorded between wetland and the rest two habitats during wet season (SI = 0.5 in both cases). Such less species similarity might be due to less suitability of wetland habitat during the wet season as it is flooded by temporary stagnant water. However, all the three habitats contained 10 species in common even though the numbers of individuals varied greatly. The distribution and diversity of mammals in the present study area were not the same in the three habitat types and between seasons. The forest area supported the highest number of mammalian species during both seasons, and the farmland in wet season (15 species each). The similarity in the distribution of mammals in these two habitats might be due to the similarity of the two habitats in the possession of food and other resources to meet the requirements of mammals. Wetland habitat supported 10 mammalian species during dry season and 5 species in wet season. The less species distribution in wetland habitat was the less suitability of the area to mammals, as it mainly supports animals that feed on grasses. It was also occupied by temporary stagnant water during wet season that is not suitable for large number of mammals. Mammalian species like, Vervet monkey, Olive baboon, Warthogs and African civets were relatively observed and recorded in large number in all habitats of the study area. Their distribution in all habitat types indicates their adaptation to a variety of habitat types. The effects of anthropogenic activities on mammalian species of the fragmented forest of JIT campus were substantial. Unfortunately, most of the human induced effects on the wild mammals of the area were practiced by the employees of the University rather than local community. The top most serious threats to the wildlife of the area were poaching. A number of local traps were set at different sites, particularly at the boundary of farmland and forest area. Bohor Reedbucks, bush pigs, common duikers and warthogs were poached for their meat. Vervet monkey, crested porcupine and olive baboons were poached for their destructive effects on crops, which both contribute to the disappearance and population decline of these mammals (Legese et al., 2019 ). Domestic animals like dog and livestock are adversely affecting the wild mammals of the study area. The disposal of leftover foods in the area by the University facilitates the occurrence of large number of dogs from the local areas. The presence of dogs might greatly influence the existence of wild animals. According to Doherty et al., ( 2017 ), the interaction between dogs and wildlife can lead to predation, disturbance, disease transmission, competition, and hybridization. Livestock were also seen in all the habitats competing for food with mammalian species particularly ungulates. In general, if these threats continue, there might be no more chance to see the present floras and faunas of the study area. CONCLUSION The study identified and documented mammalian species in the area which could provide base line information for future conservation and management plan. A total of 15 species of medium and large sized mammals that belong to six orders and 10 families were identified. The diversity, distribution and relative abundance of mammal species in the study area showed marked difference among habitats and between seasons during the study period. Such variations could be related to the difference in habitat preference of the mammals and variations in the availability of water, food, vegetation cover and level of disturbance. Most of the mammals in the study area are either disturbance tolerant or developed specific adaption to the prevailing conditions. The presences of disturbance tolerant and adaptive mammals in the study area suggest that this area is severely threatened and its resources are also severely depleted. Mammals such as Vervet monkey and Olive baboon were frequently observed in all habitats during both seasons. The mammalian species of JIT campus fragmented forest remnant are under serious threat because of negative impacts of various human induced influences. The major threats are poaching, livestock encroachment, collection of firewood, chopping down of trees for construction purpose. Recommendation JIT campus fragmented forest remnant is under intense anthropogenic pressure and requires management interventions to maintain the overall biodiversity, productivity, and sustainability of the area. Thus, the following recommendations are suggested to ensure the long-term conservation of flora and fauna of the area. Mammals of the current study area are under great anthropogenic pressure and require special attention and management interventions to sustain their existence. There are many roads crossing the area which connect the nearby farming areas, but might strongly influence the existence of the wild animals unless properly managed. Additional detailed study of long duration on the diversity and other ecological aspects of the area should be conducted to get detailed information on the faunal diversity of the area. The boundary of the University should be clearly demarcated and guarded from the interference of local community and domestic animals to minimize the pressure on wild mammals. The weak level of protection of mammals and their habitats from illegal intruders, poachers, and hunters should be improved through local community awareness, constructing, and maintaining fence, employing enough number of guards and controlling any illegal activities of local communities. Declarations Author Contribution Debere Hailu Serbesa has made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data Tsegaye Gadisa has made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work, drafted the and revised it critically for important intellectual content;Gadisa Natea has made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work, drafted the and revised it critically for important intellectual content approved the version to be published Tadese Habtamu has made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, drafted the and revised it critically for important intellectual content Acknowledgement The authors thanks Jimma University for providing some financial support during the process of data collection. Data Availability All the data generated and analyzed are included in the submitted document. 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Facts on File Publication, New York, NY Vreugdenhil D, Vreugdenhil AM, Tilahun T, Shimelis A, Tefera Z (2012) Gap analysis of the protected areas system of Ethiopia. EWCA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, p 68 Yalden DW (1983) The extent of high ground in Ethiopia compared to the rest of Africa. Sinet: Ethiop J Sci 6:35–39 Young J (2012) Ethiopian Protected Areas A snapshot‟. A reference guide for future strategic planning and project funding by Ethiopian Wild Life Authority Zewdu B, Yemesrach A (2005) Willingness to Pay Protecting Endangered Environments: The Case of Nechsar National Park. Nechisar National Park Report. Addis Ababa.Pp.1 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5414246","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":376500853,"identity":"17858e5b-a647-43a8-a16a-91a1d7f428ed","order_by":0,"name":"Debere Hailu Serbesa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jimma University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Debere","middleName":"Hailu","lastName":"Serbesa","suffix":""},{"id":376500854,"identity":"f3336eac-cd0a-4372-a019-90895ad231c9","order_by":1,"name":"Tsegaye Gadisa","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHCD5AMMjA1EqONBMNMSSNaSY0CcFnv+w4df/Gyzsetvz/km8XOHjRwD++GjG/DaIpGWZtnblpY848zbbZK9Z9KMGXjS0m7g18JjZsDbdjiZ4UbuNgkgI7EBKIJfC//5b4Z/2/4ny9/IeSb5lygtDDnMj3nbDtgZ3MhhkybOlhtpZswy55ITDM88M7aWbUszZiPkF/b+w48/vimzs5c7nvzw5ts2Gzl+9sPH8GoBAjYJRjaGxAYGBhYJMJeAchBg/sDwh8EewhgFo2AUjIJRgAUAAKBNTe4uTBQ5AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Jimma University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tsegaye","middleName":"","lastName":"Gadisa","suffix":""},{"id":376500855,"identity":"bb007fd6-f399-4d1a-930d-f66dbada0185","order_by":2,"name":"Gadisa Natea","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jimma University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gadisa","middleName":"","lastName":"Natea","suffix":""},{"id":376500859,"identity":"afb8daaa-286b-47e5-97ff-3edd37af70d7","order_by":3,"name":"Tadese Habitamu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jimma University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tadese","middleName":"","lastName":"Habitamu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-11-08 06:53:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5414246/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5414246/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":69985318,"identity":"7cc7d8cb-a674-4bb6-a2db-88f4e6fdf54f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-27 08:37:33","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":319393,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMap of the study area\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5414246/v1/e92e3f80ec86c4dd9dd53f9f.png"},{"id":69984911,"identity":"0b126d63-b7e9-4bf4-9e63-86208694df71","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-27 08:29:33","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":15290,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eNumber of individuals of medium and large-sized mammals in the study area\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5414246/v1/3553a0e155a6d45344b474f7.png"},{"id":69984910,"identity":"a6ca2505-8542-41f7-9363-8b46946b2a27","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-27 08:29:33","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":118332,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSeasonal variations in species diversity of medium and large mammals\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5414246/v1/71b453dab8bf7817d2558445.png"},{"id":70833824,"identity":"5aaba3de-c756-4429-a87b-84863e1c9c3e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-07 14:23:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1140149,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5414246/v1/0c07ee30-19b2-442f-ab1f-0de4813eaace.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Mammalian diversity in the relict semi-natural forest in the campus of Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT), southwester","fulltext":[{"header":"INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eEthiopia, with over 320 species of mammals, is among the wildlife rich countries in Africa. The most important feature of Ethiopian mammals is endemism. Thirty six of the recorded mammalian species are endemic and this is largely related with highlands (above 3000m) in the country (Yalden, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1983\u003c/span\u003e; Bekele \u0026amp; Yalden, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) and some of the endemism are at genera level (Vreugdenhil et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). ). There are six endemic genera of which four are monotypic (Megadendromus, Muriculus, Nilopegamys, and Theropithecus) and the other endemic genera are Desmomys and Stenocephalemys (Vreugdenhil et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). To conserve these unique fauna, Ethiopia has legally established 12 National Parks, 11 Wildlife Reserves, 3 Sanctuaries, 18 Controlled Hunting Areas and 69 Important Bird Areas and most faunal records of the country are from these protected areas (Abebe \u0026amp; Bekele, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Chape et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Zewdu \u0026amp; Yemesrach, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e). These areas are not only act as biodiversity “banks” but also have a direct economic benefit through bringing revenues from tourism However, in Ethiopia, considerable wildlife species are outside protected areas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGlobally, natural ecosystems have been altered due to anthropogenic activities largely for agriculture. Many habitats of mammals, including those in protected areas, are undergoing degradation. Most forest areas have been converted into agricultural and pastoral lands (Stoddart, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e). Agriculture impacts both small and large-sized mammals through habitat fragmentation which may lead to edge effects (Rosenzweig, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Primack, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e), changes in habitat quality, and introduction of new crops or invasive species which may be of poor nutrition to mammals (Palakova et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). In poor countries like Ethiopia, where most of the societies depend on nature for their living, issues of conservation of wildlife resources is far from reality. This nature of the society coupled with the ever increasing demand for arable land for commercial farming intensified challenges of wildlife in the country. Encroachment is still major challenge for the protected areas in the country.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, development activities and urbanization are the growing challenges of the then wilderness areas of Ethiopia. Urbanization has had a profound impact on wildlife, causing habitat loss, deforestation, and rise in human-wildlife conflicts. Reports show that, response of wildlife species to urbanization related to the life history, behavioral and physiological attributes of the species promoting avoidance or tolerance. Majority of large mammals are highly impacted by habitat fragmentation and disappear from the newly urbanized areas (Croci et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). But still there are animals tolerating habitat fragmentation during urbanization and well established in the new human dominated ecosystem. Wildlife species that positively respond to urbanization, synanthropic species, have developed specific behavioral attributes to overcome the challenges of living in an urban environment including the generalist and omnivorous feeding habits and developing flexible behavior (Cove et al. 2019).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResearchers stated that biodiversity conservation depends on the conservation of wildlife populations within fragmented landscapes (Rosenzweig, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Lindenmayer \u0026amp; Fischer, 2006) including those adapted to perform in urban areas. Human induced stress may alter the life history traits of wildlife, forest fragments in urban areas continue to serve as last refugia for some and as a corridor for transient ones (Jung \u0026amp; Kalko, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). However, scientific reports regarding the diversity and abundance of wildlife species tolerating fragmented habitats in urban areas are rare in Ethiopia (Mohammed \u0026amp; Bekele, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) and most such habitats are not assessed. Forest fragment in JIT campus is one of such habitats that seemingly host such wildlife. However, the faunal composition of this fragmented natural forest fragment is not formally recorded. Therefore, the present study was aimed to fill this gap by collecting data on the diversity, relative abundance and habitat preference of mammals in forest fragment of JIT campus, Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"THE STUDY AREA AND METHOD","content":"\u003cp\u003eDe\u003cb\u003escription of the study area\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in JIT campus is located at the outskirt towards the South-western end of Jimma town (the capital of Jimma Zone, southwestern Ethiopia). Jimma town is about 346 km from Addis Ababa, to the southwest and geographically located at 7°39'59.99\" N 36°49'59.99\" E and covers about 1402.20 ha. The study area, JIT campus has about 300 ha area. The area is traditionally classified into three habitat types; the largest portion (44.20%) is covered by wetland, serving as grazing area both for intruding livestock and resident wildlife. The natural forest fragment is the second largest habitat (38.50%) and the agricultural area within the campus covers about 17.30%. A significant sized landfill area is located at the western corner of the study area and serves as a dumpsite for domestic waste and leftover from students’ cafeteria. The area is characterized by uni-modal rainfall (having one long rain season) between May and September with a peak in August (with mean monthly rainfall of 1221.5mm). The mean annual rainfall in the area ranges between 1429 and 1935 mm, with the highest concentration in August. A marked dry season ranges from December to February. The temperature is moderately warm with a mean annual maximum of 27.80°C and mean annual minimum of 12.10°C (EMA, 2019)).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo determine the diversity, relative abundance and habitat preference of medium and large sized mammals of the area, a two season data were collected using line transect survey, sensor camera trap and indirect evidences. Dry season data were collected from February to April, 2019 and from June to August 2019 for the wet season. Body size was used to classify mammals as medium (between 2 and 7 kg) and large sized (all mammals over 7 kg) (Emmons and Feer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eTransect survey\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA total of eight transect lines (three in wetland, three in semi-natural forest and two in farmland), representing each habitat were established and permanently surveyed during both seasons. The length of transects was 1km for wetland and forest area, and 800m for farmland. About 400m distance between any two transects for wetland and forest habitat and 300m for farmland. Surveys were conducted twice a day when the animals were mostly active; in the morning (06:00 to 10:00 am) and late in the afternoon (04:00 to 06:30 pm) in each transects (Legese et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Two rounds of observation of mammals were made in March and April 2019 for the dry season and July and August 2019 in the study site for the wet season. Along transects, any large and medium sized mammalian species observed and the number of animals seen was recorded. In addition, indirect evidences such as feces, burrows, trails, pug marks, foot/hoof prints, carcasses, scent marks were also used (Mohammed and Bekele, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Observation of mammalian species was made by the naked eyes and sometimes aided with binoculars. Own experience and local guides were used to identify species of mammals observed. Mammalian field guides (Bekele \u0026amp; Yalden, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Kingdon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; Kingdon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e; Kingdon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1971\u003c/span\u003e) were also used for confirmation purposes. When convenient, pictures were also picked.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCamera trapping\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNocturnal and cryptic medium and large sized mammals were recorded using wildlife sensor cameras (Rovero et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Seven wildlife sensor cameras (Bushnell Trophy Cam Model #S.119537C, 2013, USA) were set at high potential sites for detecting mammals (example in wildlife trails, burrows, caves and a landfill site) (Jansen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). In each habitat, cameras were tied in appropriate sized tree, about 60 cm off the ground facing trails, burrows and in open areas to cover wider field of visions. Cameras were set following the procedures in Jansen et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) and Srbek-Araujo and Chiarello, (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) to maximize the capture success for both medium and large animals. Cameras were programmed to take sequential videos for 30 seconds, with a second interval and operate for 24hrs. At each habitat type, cameras were set active for 10 days and checked daily for recorded videos and battery replacement. This activity was done in February 2019 for dry season and in August 2019 for wet season. The captured species were identified using the guides.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003e3.5 Data analysis\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecies diversity of mammals was computed using the Shannon-Wiener Index (H’) of diversity (Shannon and Wiener, 1949). \u003cb\u003eH’= -Σ [{ni/N} x ln[{ni/N}];\u003c/b\u003e Where \u003cem\u003eni\u003c/em\u003e = number of individuals of each species (the \u003cem\u003ei\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003eth\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e species) and \u003cem\u003eN\u003c/em\u003e = total number of individuals for the site, and ln = the natural log of the number Species evenness, which represents the distributional patterns of mammals, was calculated using the equation of Begon \u003cem\u003eet al\u003c/em\u003e., (1996). \u003cb\u003eJ = H’/Hmax\u003c/b\u003e Where H’ is Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Hmax = ln(S) and S is the number of species. Simpson similarity index (SI) was computed to assess the similarity between the habitats with reference to the composition of mammals observed. \u003cb\u003eSI = nC/I + II + III\u003c/b\u003e Where SI = Simpson’s similarity index, C = the number of common species to all habitats, n = the number of habitats, I = the number of species in habitat one, II = the number of species in habitat two, III = the number of species in habitat three.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe relative abundance of a species was calculated by dividing the number of records of each species by the total number of records of all species. Percentage of occurrence was calculated to determine whether the mammals were common, uncommon and rare. The observed mammals were categorized as common, if they were seen during all of the surveys (probability of seeing is 100% every time of the visit), uncommon if probability of seeing is more than 50% and rare if probability of seeing is less than 50% (Hillman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e; Gonfa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"RESULTS","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpecies richness\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the present study, a total of 15 mammalian species (two medium and 13 large-sized mammals) were identified throughout the study period. The identified mammalian species belong to six orders and 10 families. Order Carnivora was represented by five species, order Artiodactyla with four and order Primate with three species. Orders Lagomorpha, Hyracoidea and Rodentia were represented by one species each (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Among the mammalian species identified, six species were sighted directly during the study period, six species from camera trap records, and three species were identified by the combination of two of the above methods (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedium and large-sized mammalian species recorded from the study area\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrder\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eScientific Name\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon Name\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIdentification\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMethods\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLagomorpha\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLeporidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLepus starcki\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStark\u0026rsquo;s hare\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCercopitheci\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eColobus guereza\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eColobus monkey\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePapio anubis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlive baboon\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eChlorocebus aethiopis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVervet monkey\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eArtiodactyla\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBovidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRedunca redunca\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBohor Reedbuck\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSylvicapra grimmia\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon duiker\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;CT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSuidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePhacochoerus africanus\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon warthog\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;CT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePotamochoerus larvatus\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBush pig\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCarnivora\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eViverridae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGenetta genetta\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon genet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCivetticitis civetta\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfrican civets\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCanidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCanis aures\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon jackal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHyaenidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCorcuta carcuta\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpotted hyena\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;faeces\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHyrpestidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHerpestes sanguineus\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSlender Mongoose\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHyracoidea\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProcaviidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHetro hyrax brucei\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBush hyrax\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisual\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRodentia\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHystricidae\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHystrix cristata\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCrested porcupine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCT\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"5\"\u003eCT\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;camera trap\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 641 individuals of medium and large-sized mammals were sighted in the study area (352 during the dry season and 289 during wet season). Forest habitat contained the highest (164) number of individuals of mammals during the dry season followed by farmland with 150 individuals in the same season. The least number of individual records was obtained from wetland with 27 individuals of mammals during the wet season. For combined season, 256 and 295 individuals of mammals were recorded from farmland and forest area respectively, and the least number of individuals (98 individuals) were recorded from wetland (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of species composition, the highest number of medium and large mammalian species (15 species) was recorded from the forest during both seasons and from farmland during the wet season. Farmland took the second position by supporting 14 species during dry season. The least number of species was recorded from wetland with 10 and 5 species during the dry and wet season respectively (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecies diversity indexes of medium and large sized mammals\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the three habitat types, farmland supported the greatest diversity of medium and large-szed mammals (H\u0026rsquo; = 2.52 with evenness J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.93) during the wet season. The second diversified habitat was forest area with H\u0026rsquo; = 2.25 and J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.83, while the least was recorded from wetland (H\u0026rsquo; = 1.4, and J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.87) during the wet season. During the dry season, the forest area had the highest diversity of mammals with H\u0026rsquo; = 2.29 and evenness J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.85. The second diversified habitat was wetland with H\u0026rsquo; = 2.1 and J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.91 while the least mammalian diversity was recorded in farmland (H\u0026rsquo; = 2.02) and (J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.77) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpecies diversity indexes (H\u0026rsquo;) and evenness (J) of medium and large sized mammals in the three habitat types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"11\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c11\" colnum=\"11\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHabitat types\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of species\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eindividuals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSWI (H' )\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c9\" namest=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH 'max\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c11\" namest=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvenness (J)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWetland\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.91\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFarmland\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e150\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.02\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eForest area\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e131\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e164\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c11\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor the combined seasons, the species diversity of medium and large mammalian species was nearly similar in the farmland and the forest area with the H\u0026rsquo; =2.31(J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.85) and 2.32 (J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.86) respectively. The least diversity was obtained from the wetland with H`= 2.05 and J\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.89 (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiversity indices (H`) and evenness (J) of medium and large mammals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHabitat type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of species\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of individuals\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiversity (H\u0026rsquo;)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eH\u0026rsquo;max\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvenness (J)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWetland\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFarmland\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e248\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eForest area\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e295\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eRelative abundance and habitat preference of medium and large mammals\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the total of 352 individuals of mammals recorded during the dry season, the most abundant species was vervet monkey (\u003cem\u003eChlorocebus aethiopis)\u003c/em\u003e (30.68%). The species was also the most abundant during the wet season (20.76%). The second abundant species was olive baboon (\u003cem\u003ePapio anubis).\u003c/em\u003e Olive baboon was also recorded frequently during both seasons in the study area (17.9% and 17.98% during the dry and wet seasons respectively). Warthogs (\u003cem\u003eP. africanus\u003c/em\u003e) were the third abundant species (9.09%) during the dry season. Spotted hyena (\u003cem\u003eC. corcuta\u003c/em\u003e) and Common jackal (\u003cem\u003eC. aures\u003c/em\u003e) were the least abundant mammals with less than 2% share each (Table\u0026nbsp;4). Regarding the habitat preference of mammals, the highest number of species was obtained in forest habitat both in the dry and wet seasons (15 species) followed by farmland where 14 and 15 species were recorded in dry and wet seasons respectively. However, wetland harbored less mammalian records (10 species) than the other three habitats in each seasons (Table\u0026nbsp;4).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 10\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRelative abundance of medium and large sized mammals recorded in the study area during dry and wet seasons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpecies Name\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal No. of\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eindividuals recorded\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRA for each season (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRA For combined season (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDry\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWet\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDry\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWet\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStarks hare (\u003cem\u003eL. starcki\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eColobus monkey (\u003cem\u003eC. abyssinicus\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlive baboon (\u003cem\u003eP. anubis\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVervet monkey(\u003cem\u003eC. aethiopis)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e108\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBohor Reedbuck \u003cem\u003e(R. redunca)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfrican civets (\u003cem\u003eC. civetta\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWarthog (\u003cem\u003eP. africanus\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpotted hyena (\u003cem\u003eC. carcuta\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.08\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon genet (\u003cem\u003eG. genetta)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon jackal (\u003cem\u003eC. aures\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.38\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon duiker (\u003cem\u003eS. grimmia\u003c/em\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBush pig (\u003cem\u003eP. larvatus)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCrested porcupine (\u003cem\u003eHystrix cristata)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBush hyrax (\u003cem\u003eHetro hyrax brucei)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSlender Mongoose \u003cem\u003e(H. senguineus)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.06\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e352\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e289\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpecies similarity of medium and large-sized mammals among the three habitat types\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe highest mammalian species similarity was observed between the farmland and the forest during the wet season (SI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.0), followed by the species between the same habitats during dry season (SI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.97). However, less similarity of mammalian species was observed between the wetland and the forest and between the wetland and the farmland during the wet season with the SI value of 0.5 each (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSimilarity of medium and large mammalian species between habitats during wet and dry seasons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHabitat\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWetland\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFarmland\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eForest area\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDry\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWetland\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFarmland\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eForest area\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eOccurrences of mammals\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on occurrence, the medium and large sized mammals were grouped in to common, uncommon and rare species. Of the mammalian species recorded during the study period, four species (26.7%) were common, six species (40%) were uncommon, and five species (33.3%) were rare (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOccurrence of medium and large sized mammals in the study area\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUncommon\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRare\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eColobus monkey\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfrican civets\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStarks hare\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVervet monkey\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWarthog\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpotted hyena\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon duiker\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon genet\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommon jackal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlive baboon\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCrested porcupine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBush pig\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBohor Reedbuck\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBush hyrax\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSlender Mongoose\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e% of occurrence\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e26.7%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e40%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e33.3%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe number of species recorded from JIT campus fragmented forest remnant was less compared to the number of mammalian species recorded with a similar study in other areas. For example, Mohammed and Bekele (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e) recorded 22 species of mammals from a survey conducted in fragmented remnant forests around Asella Town. However, it is higher than the finding of Legese et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) who have reported 12 species from Wabe forest fragments, Gurage zone.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of faunal composition in different habitat types of the present study area indicated that the forest contained the highest diversity of mammalian species during the dry season (H\u0026rsquo; = 2.29). The reason for the presence of such large number of mammalian species in this habitat could probably be the availability of sufficient food and shelter for protection from predation. Similarly, a study by Dawud (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e) showed that species diversity is often high in areas where there are sufficient food and water sources. Among the three habitats of the study area, the farmland supported the highest diversity (H\u0026rsquo; = 2.52) of mammals during wet season. The possible explanation for this might be the presence of sufficient supply of food in the area during the wet season. The low diversity (H\u0026rsquo;= 1.4) of mammalian species in the wetland during the wet season might be due to factors such as high human disturbance and less suitability of the area during this season Even, during dry season, the wetland supports only grazers, so that mammals with other feeding habits are excluded from the area. Similarly, Matias et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) showed negative correlation between habitat homogeneity and animal species diversity.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariation in the relative abundance of mammalian species in the present study area was observed between species to species and among habitats. The abundance of mammalian species is determined mainly by their food, water and shelter requirements. Vervet monkey (\u003cem\u003eC. aethiopis)\u003c/em\u003e was the most abundant species of mammals in the study area during both seasons (30.68% in dry and 20.76% in wet season). This species was widely distributed in all habitat types of the study area; though it appeared to be more concentrated in farmland during dry season after the crops were harvested. It was also frequently seen in large groups in the forest area during both seasons. Vervet monkeys were also frequently observed around peripheral areas including buildings of the campus. Occasionally, they come in groups to the resident areas and disturb the local community. Several studies have also reported high abundance of primates from different parts of Ethiopia. For example, Gonfa et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e) reported high abundance of primates compared to other mammals from Dati Wolel National Park. Yirga and Meseret (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) also reported similar finding from Borena-Sayint National Park. The existence of this species in various habitats is perhaps due to the high reproductive successes, diversified foraging behavior and high tolerance level to human disturbances (Negeri et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOlive baboon (\u003cem\u003ePapio anubis\u003c/em\u003e) was the second most abundant species in the study area during both seasons (17.9% in dry and 17.98% in wet season). The species was widely distributed in the forest area. The possible explanations for this could be the less suitability of wetland and the occupancy of farmland with crops during wet season; thus the only option is concentrating in the forest area. In addition, the high abundance of this species in forest area might probably be associated to the availability of different plant species which could be used as the source of food and shelter for the animals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding species similarity among the habitats of the study area, the highest species similarity was obtained between farmland and the forest area with SI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.0 during wet season. This indicated that 100% of the recorded mammalian species of the study area were common to the two habitats. The second highest species similarity was also recorded between farmland and forest area during the dry season (SI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.97). This also revealed that 97% of the species were common to both habitats in this season. High species similarity might be due to the presence of similar resource suitable for mammals and the proximity of the two habitats, as mammals could move freely from one habitat to the other. The least species similarity was recorded between wetland and the rest two habitats during wet season (SI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.5 in both cases). Such less species similarity might be due to less suitability of wetland habitat during the wet season as it is flooded by temporary stagnant water. However, all the three habitats contained 10 species in common even though the numbers of individuals varied greatly.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe distribution and diversity of mammals in the present study area were not the same in the three habitat types and between seasons. The forest area supported the highest number of mammalian species during both seasons, and the farmland in wet season (15 species each). The similarity in the distribution of mammals in these two habitats might be due to the similarity of the two habitats in the possession of food and other resources to meet the requirements of mammals. Wetland habitat supported 10 mammalian species during dry season and 5 species in wet season. The less species distribution in wetland habitat was the less suitability of the area to mammals, as it mainly supports animals that feed on grasses. It was also occupied by temporary stagnant water during wet season that is not suitable for large number of mammals. Mammalian species like, Vervet monkey, Olive baboon, Warthogs and African civets were relatively observed and recorded in large number in all habitats of the study area. Their distribution in all habitat types indicates their adaptation to a variety of habitat types.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe effects of anthropogenic activities on mammalian species of the fragmented forest of JIT campus were substantial. Unfortunately, most of the human induced effects on the wild mammals of the area were practiced by the employees of the University rather than local community. The top most serious threats to the wildlife of the area were poaching. A number of local traps were set at different sites, particularly at the boundary of farmland and forest area. Bohor Reedbucks, bush pigs, common duikers and warthogs were poached for their meat. Vervet monkey, crested porcupine and olive baboons were poached for their destructive effects on crops, which both contribute to the disappearance and population decline of these mammals (Legese et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDomestic animals like dog and livestock are adversely affecting the wild mammals of the study area. The disposal of leftover foods in the area by the University facilitates the occurrence of large number of dogs from the local areas. The presence of dogs might greatly influence the existence of wild animals. According to Doherty et al., (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), the interaction between dogs and wildlife can lead to predation, disturbance, disease transmission, competition, and hybridization. Livestock were also seen in all the habitats competing for food with mammalian species particularly ungulates. In general, if these threats continue, there might be no more chance to see the present floras and faunas of the study area.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"CONCLUSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study identified and documented mammalian species in the area which could provide base line information for future conservation and management plan. A total of 15 species of medium and large sized mammals that belong to six orders and 10 families were identified. The diversity, distribution and relative abundance of mammal species in the study area showed marked difference among habitats and between seasons during the study period. Such variations could be related to the difference in habitat preference of the mammals and variations in the availability of water, food, vegetation cover and level of disturbance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMost of the mammals in the study area are either disturbance tolerant or developed specific adaption to the prevailing conditions. The presences of disturbance tolerant and adaptive mammals in the study area suggest that this area is severely threatened and its resources are also severely depleted. Mammals such as Vervet monkey and Olive baboon were frequently observed in all habitats during both seasons. The mammalian species of JIT campus fragmented forest remnant are under serious threat because of negative impacts of various human induced influences. The major threats are poaching, livestock encroachment, collection of firewood, chopping down of trees for construction purpose.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eRecommendation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eJIT campus fragmented forest remnant is under intense anthropogenic pressure and requires management interventions to maintain the overall biodiversity, productivity, and sustainability of the area. Thus, the following recommendations are suggested to ensure the long-term conservation of flora and fauna of the area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eMammals of the current study area are under great anthropogenic pressure and require special attention and management interventions to sustain their existence. There are many roads crossing the area which connect the nearby farming areas, but might strongly influence the existence of the wild animals unless properly managed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditional detailed study of long duration on the diversity and other ecological aspects of the area should be conducted to get detailed information on the faunal diversity of the area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe boundary of the University should be clearly demarcated and guarded from the interference of local community and domestic animals to minimize the pressure on wild mammals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe weak level of protection of mammals and their habitats from illegal intruders, poachers, and hunters should be improved through local community awareness, constructing, and maintaining fence, employing enough number of guards and controlling any illegal activities of local communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDebere Hailu Serbesa has made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data Tsegaye Gadisa has made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work, drafted the and revised it critically for important intellectual content;Gadisa Natea has made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work, drafted the and revised it critically for important intellectual content approved the version to be published Tadese Habtamu has made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, drafted the and revised it critically for important intellectual content\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors thanks Jimma University for providing some financial support during the process of data collection.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll the data generated and analyzed are included in the submitted document.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbebe FB and and, Bekele SE (2018) Challenges to National Park Conservation and Management in Ethiopia. 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EWCA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, p 68\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYalden DW (1983) The extent of high ground in Ethiopia compared to the rest of Africa. Sinet: Ethiop J Sci 6:35\u0026ndash;39\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYoung J (2012) Ethiopian Protected Areas A snapshot‟. A reference guide for future strategic planning and project funding by Ethiopian Wild Life Authority\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZewdu B, Yemesrach A (2005) Willingness to Pay Protecting Endangered Environments: The Case of Nechsar National Park. Nechisar National Park Report. Addis Ababa.Pp.1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Fragmented habitats, Mammals, relative abundance, Species composition, Species similarity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5414246/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5414246/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eMammals in small fragmented habitats, particularly those in or adjacent to cities and towns could serve as population stock source with significant economic, ecological, social, cultural and conservation values. This study was conducted to assess the diversity, habitat preference and relative abundances of medium and large sized mammals in the fragmented semi-natural forest and the surrounding wetland and farmland habitats in the Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT) campus, Jimma city, from December 2018 to August, 2019. Three habitat types (forest, wetland and farmland) were identified. Line transect, sensor camera traps and indirect methods were used to collect data from all the three habitat types. A total of 15 species of medium and large sized mammals from six orders and 10 families were recorded from the area. Order Carnivora was represented by five species, Artiodatayla by four, primates by three species, while, orders Lagomorpha, Hyracoidea and Rodentia were represented by a single species each. Comparatively, species diversity was high in the farmland during the wet season (H\u0026rsquo; = 2.52) and the least diversity was from the wetland (H\u0026rsquo; = 1.4) during the same season. While Chlorocebus aethiopis was the most abundant (26.21%) species in all habitats, Canis aures was the least (1.4%). Despite the dominating human disturbance the small fragmented natural forest and its surrounding wetland and farmland in JIT campus still hosted diverse wildlife species signifying the value of such habitats in cities. Therefore, the authorities of JIT campus are recommended to give special attention and protect the area from any future development activities.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Mammalian diversity in the relict semi-natural forest in the campus of Jimma Institute of Technology (JIT), southwester","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-11-27 08:29:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5414246/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b3f1d81c-b728-419e-9c8e-41eb5ecb8fef","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 27th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-12-07T14:23:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-11-27 08:29:28","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5414246","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5414246","identity":"rs-5414246","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}