Abstract:

In this study， a ‘quadrat trap’ method was used to investigate rodent communities of 10 different habitat types at 25 survey sites in the Annanba wild camel national nature reserve from 2018 to 2019， in order to understand rodent community structure and diversity. Our project captured 124 rodents， belonging to nine species， six genera， and three families. Among these， the most commonly trapped species were Dipus sagittal， Meriones meridianus and Meriones tamariscinus. A cluster analysis and PCA diagram show that the rodents of Annanba reserve were mainly divided into two communities； there was a desert drought-tolerant rodent community widely distributed in all habitats of the reserve， and a drought-tolerant and hygrophilous mixed rodent community mainly distributed in habitats characterized by Form. Phragmites australis and Form. Myricaria platyphylla. Among the 10 habitat types surveyed， the richness index and diversity index of Form. P. australis habitats were higher than other habitats. In addition to environmental factors， the observed diversity pattern may have shaped by the two factors： the number of species and the evenness of species distribution. The altitudinal distribution of rodent populations was marked by a large number of species distributed at altitudes of 1400-1800 m and 2600-3000 m， i.e. lower numbers at mid-altitude， and higher numbers at both lower and higher altitudes. This study showed that habitat type and altitude affect the rodent community structure in the Annanba nature reserve.

Key words: rodent, community structure, diversity, Annanba nature reserve