Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Human activities directly influence the diversity, abundance and distribution of species. The loss of species in forested areas—called the defaunation process—is an outcome of anthropogenic processes, especially in forest remnants close to urban and rural areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate small mammal diversity in a forest–urban interface area at the largest urban forest in the Americas, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Seven small mammal species were captured: the marsupials Didelphis aurita, Marmosa paraguayana, Metachirus myosuros, and Monodelphis americana; and the rodents Akodon cursor, Oligoryzomys nigripes, and Trinomys dimidiatus. The common opossum D. aurita was dominant in the community. Beta diversity indices revealed little variation among types of environments and over time. Species richness of the small mammal community in the study area was lower than that reported in the literature. The study area contained a fixed set of core species in the community over time and among environments (peridomicile, disturbed forest, and preserved forest), with the presence of less abundant species in some periods and environments. Small mammal species richness observed was lower than in preserved areas, when compared with other studies. Historical, ecological, and anthropogenic characteristics of the area may have contributed to its low diversity.
Source: Journal of Mammalogy
Institution: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,988
Funders: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Innovation and Networks Executive Agency, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
OpenAlex ID: W7158733907