Survival rates of Rattus verecundus and Paramelomys platyops in a murid rich tropical rainforest of Papua New Guinea

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Wildlife Conservation Society

Estimations of survival rates of small mammal populations that occur on the isiand of New Guinea are crucial for conservation and management strategies. Here, we used mark-recapfure data in programme MARK to estimate apparent survival and defection of two murid species in a tropical rainforest in Papua New Guinea. The most parsimonious model allowed survival and recapture probability to vary by species. Across the two species, Rattus verecundus generally had lower survival rates, but higher recapture probabilities, whereas Paramelomys platyops had higher survival rates but lower recapture probabilities. Since many small mammal species that occur in New Guinea are already listed under the lUCN red list for Threatened Species, similar studies can be replicated targeting the threatened species to provide information to wildlife managers for management and conservation decision.