Abstract
The recently established Chebera Churchura National Park represents a mosaic of savanna and montane evergreen forest. A report on small mammals (2013) showed their relatively high diversity, but species identification was based only on external morphology. We conducted a new field survey and genetic analyses to shed light on diversity and biogeographical affinities of small mammals in this under-explored national park. Based on results of mitochondrial DNA barcoding, 14 species of rodents and two species of shrews, including Crocidura turba (new to the Ethiopian fauna), were identified. Moreover, a new taxon of gerbils – presumably representing a new species – of the genus Gerbilliscus was discovered. We show that forest and savanna species often inhabit the same localities, which can be explained by the mosaic nature of biotopes. These results document the uniqueness of Chebera Churchura NP, especially in comparison with other Ethiopian national parks, and argue for its protection and further development.
Funding source: Russian Foundation for Basic Research
Award Identifier / Grant number: project No. 19-54-26003
Funding source: Czech Science Foundation
Award Identifier / Grant number: 20-07091J
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Andrei Darkov (Joint Ethio-Russian Biological Expedition, Fourth Phase: JERBE IV) for the management of the expedition. We are indebted to the Development Authority of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples National Regional State for the permission to work in CCNP. We are very grateful to biologist Melese Mekuria and scouts Tamiru Tadesse and Adino Asa of CCNP for their invaluable assistance during the fieldwork.
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Research ethics: All the fieldwork complied with laws and regulations of Ethiopia, and the sampling was carried out with the permission of the Development Authority of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples National Regional State (ref. no. 29/02/2020).
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of the submitted manuscript and have approved it.
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Research funding: This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 19-54-26003) and the Czech Science Foundation (20–07091J).
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Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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