Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Alicia Linzey Duncan MacFadyen Isa-Rita Russo Peter Taylor Josef Bryja
Contributors: Matthew Child Nico Avenant Margaret Avery Rod Baxter Ara Monadjem Guy Palmer Beryl Wilson
Reviewers: Alicia Linzey Duncan MacFadyen Isa-Rita Russo Peter Taylor Josef Bryja

Rationale

Red Veld Rats have a wide distribution within Africa, occurring at the southern limits of their range within the assessment region. They occur in Kruger National Park (north of the Olifants River) and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and can also occur in agricultural or disturbed habitats. No widespread decline is expected and thus the Least Concern listing is retained. However, as this species relies on ground cover, overgrazing and imprudent fire management could cause local declines and should be avoided. Further research is needed to more accurately delineate the relative distributions of this species and A. ineptus.

Regional population effects: Dispersal is possible along connected habitats of the northern border of South Africa (Limpopo, North West and Northern Cape provinces) from Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Distribution

This species is widely distributed in the savannah habitats of southern and East Africa, being found from southern Kenya to northern South Africa, but may be replaced in South Africa by A. ineptus (Monadjem et al. 2015). Specifically, it occurs in Namibia, excluding the western desert regions, and is widely distributed throughout Zimbabwe (Skinner and Chimimba 2005). Although the species has also been positively identified in Francistown, Botswana (Russo et al. 2006), veld rats from Mozambique have not been positively identified but it seems likely that the distributional range of A. chrysophilus includes both northern Botswana and southern Mozambique (Linzey et al. 2003). The most important phylogeographic structure is the Kafue–Limpopo river system that divides all mitochondrial sequences into two main groups (J. Bryja unpubl. data). The southern lineage is then subdivided into several clades, one of them being A. ineptus, and it is possible that the Limpopo River played an important role in the split between A. chrysophilus and A. ineptus (J. Bryja unpubl. data).

Within the assessment region specifically, A. chrysophilus occurs in a relatively narrow band bordering Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique in Limpopo, North West and (possibly) Northern Cape provinces (Linzey and Chimimba 2008, Linzey et al. 2013). In the west, the range extends southward to 24°15'S (near Rooibokkraal in North West Province) and in the east to 24°00'S in the vicinity of the Olifants River in Kruger National Park (Linzey and Chimimba 2008), while its southern distributional range limit is roughly correlated with the southern distribution of mopane (Colophospermum mopane) and baobab (Adansonia digitata) trees (Linzey and Chimimba 2008). It is also expected to occur in the northern bushveld in the lower Marico River valley of the North West Province (Power 2014), and was recorded in low numbers on the northern plains of the Kruger National Park (MacFadyen 2007).

Although this species and A. ineptus are mostly parapatric, with A. chrysophilus primarily being found at elevations < 1,000 m asl (Chimimba and Linzey 2008), their ranges are known to overlap west of Pretoria (Magaliesberg region of the North West Province) and west of the Soutpansberg in the Limpopo Province and are known with certainty to be syntopic at only one locality: Langjan Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province (Linzey et al. 2003). Further vetting of museum records is necessary to delimit the distributions ranges of A. chrysophilus and A. ineptus more accurately.

Population trend

Trend

Studies indicate that the Red Veld Rat is generally a low-density (< 8 animals / ha) species (Linzey et al. 2013) that attains highest numbers in either the hot-wet or early cool-dry seasons, and is least abundant in the late hot-dry season, with densities varying from zero to 6.2 individuals / ha (Linzey and Kesner 1997a, Linzey and Chimimba 2008). The species typically comprises a secondary component of small mammal communities, often being the least abundant among commonly occurring species, comprising between 2% and 15% of the community abundance (Linzey and Kesner 1997b, Linzey and Chimimba 2008). Densities are also highest in areas with good ground cover of either vegetation or rocks.

Threats

There are no major threats to this species. However, because it requires substantial cover, overgrazing, overstocking and incorrect fire regimes may negatively affect local population densities (Bowland and Perrin 1988, 1989).

Uses and trade

This species may opportunistically be used as bushmeat (for example, in Zimbabwe; D. MacFadyen pers. obs. 2005), but this is not expected to impact the population.

Conservation

It occurs in a number of protected areas, including Kruger National Park and Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve. No specific interventions are necessary at present. However, protection of patches of natural habitat through biodiversity stewardship programmes and reduction in stocking rates to retain ground cover will benefit this species.

Recommendations for land managers and practitioners:
  • Landowners and communities should be incentivised to stock livestock or wildlife at ecological carrying capacity and to implement a natural fire regime.
Research priorities:
  • Its precise distributional limits are unknown and further sampling and molecular analysis is required to distinguish between the ranges of the two Aethomys species. This includes vetting of existing museum records.
  • Ecological and behavioural interactions between A. ineptus and A. chrysophilus should be researched.
Encouraged citizen actions:
  • Practise indigenous gardening to sustain small mammal diversity, especially in rural areas.
  • Encourage corridors of indigenous, rank vegetation to connect areas of suitable habitat.

References 

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,]
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