Spatial patterns and distribution of damage in maize fields due to mastomys natalensis in Tanzania

We describe the spatial distribution of rodent damage to maize seedlings in Field Studies in Morogoro, Tanzania. The distribution of damage was assessed at the level of the planting hole (with three seeds per planting hole) and at the level of the maize field (where the assessed units were plots of I Ox 10 planting holes). The most abundant rodent species in the fields were the multimammate rat, Mastomys natalensis. At the planting hole level, damage was fairly regular or random. At the field level, damage to seedlings was clustered irrespective of whether the fields were situated in mosaic or monoculture Surroundings, but the Clusters were not more concentrated near the edges or the near the centre of the field. We conclude that M. natalensis does not exhibit specific exhaustive searching behaviour when feeding on seeds and seedlings in maize fields and that several local factors determine the distribution of the damage.