DIVERSITY PATTERNS OF RODENT ASSEMBLAGES ALONG HABITAT GRADIENTS IN THE DAHOMEY GAP (TOGO, WEST AFRICA).

The rodent assemblages were studied in different habitat types of the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park located in Togo, West Africa. A suite of different methods was applied, including face-to-face interviews with local hunters, live trapping along standardized transects and opportunistic observations. A total of 20 rodent species were recorded based on the surveys carried out in villages. There was a clear gradient pattern in the univariate diversity indices by habitat type: Dominance index was remarkably higher in urban/plantation than in the other habitat types whereas Evenness index was remarkably higher in gallery forest than in the other habitat types. According to a Canonical Correspondence Analysis, three "ecological groups" (= guilds) of species were formed: a group from wooded habitats (savannahs and semiforests), a group from grassy savannah and a group from urban/plantation habitats. Null model analyses revealed that species tend to non-randomly congregate in some habitat types and/or localities.