Abstract

Ua-Apisitwong, S. (1988)

Small Mammal Communities in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary.

A survey of small mammals was carried out to compare the species composition of small mammal communities in evergreen and deciduous forest types. Four trap grids were established in Doi Suthep National Park: behind Chiang Mai Zoo (430 m.), Palad (570m), Suan Son (970m), and Doi Suthep Summit (1610m) and two grids in Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary: Salapom (590m) and Thung Ka Mung (840m). The grids behind Chiang Mai Zoo and at Palad were in deciduous dipterocarp savanna whilst the others were all in various kinds of evergreen forest. Each grid covered an area of 90m x 90m and contained 49 traps at 15m intervals. Bait was banana mixed with sticky rice and crushed roasted peanuts. Animals were marked by the hair clipping method and released at the site of capture. In evergreen forest Rattus surifer, R. rattus, R. bukit, R. sabanus, R. bowersi, Menetes berdmorei, and Tupaia glis were trapped and Tamiops mcclenllandi, Callosciurus finlaysoni bocourti and C. flavimanus thai were directly observed. In deciduous dipterocarp savanna Menetes berdmorei and Melogale personata were captured. Using total number of individuals of all species caught per trap night as an index of relative abundance, indicated that evergreen forest sites supported a greater abundance of small mammals than deciduous forest sites, except on Doi Suthep Summit which had the lowest abundance. Using estimates of population density (by mark-recapture method) as a measure of absolute abundance of R. rattus, R. bukit, R. surifer at 2 evergreen forest sites indicated that R. bukit was the commonent species at Thung Ka Mung whilst R. rattus was the commonent at Suan Son. Distance between successive recaptures increased with the body size of rat species, indicating that larger rat species forage more widely than smaller ones. The home ranges of all 3 species overlapped considerably indicating an absence of space partitioning as a means of avoiding interspecific competition.