International Journal of Bio-Technology and Research (IJBTR) ISSN 2249-6858 Vol.2, Issue 3 Dec 2012 51-61 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.,
SELECTION OF PREYS BY ATELERIX ALGIRUS IN TWO STATIONS OF MITIDJA (ALGERIA) WAFA DERDOUKH 1, AHLEM GUERZOU2, FADILA BAZIZ-NEFFAH2, ABDELMALEK KHOUDOUR1,MOUATASSAM DAHOU1, MERIBAI ABDELMALEK1 & ET SALAHEDDINE DOUMANDJI2 1
Department of Natural and Life Sciences. University of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria 2
Agronomical Upper National School, El-Harrah (Algiers), Algeria
ABSTRACT The present study is made in the region of Mitidja. Trophic availabilities of preys species of hedgehogs of Algeria are studied thanks to the technique of Barber pots. This technique shows prevailing of trapped Formicidae thus Tetramorium biskrensis take the first place with 43.2 % at Baraki and Messor Barbara with 73.4% at Soumâa. Diet of Artelerix algirus is studied by analysis of their faeces by damp way. The prevailing of ingested preys is also recorded for the Formicidae where Messor Barbara has taken part with a higher rate in the two stations, which is 87.03% at Baraki and 51.2% at Soumâa. The use of Ivlev Index reveals presence of several kinds of prey, species weakly selected, accidently selected or hardly selected.
KEYS WORDS: Diet Availabilities, Atelerix Algirus, Formicidae, Ivlev Index INTRODUCTION Hedgehogs are solitary insectivores with nocturnal habits, living preferably in the woodland regions and cultivated earth, but some species seem perfectly well adapted to arid and steppe regions (GRASSE.1955 ; FRECHKOP, 1981).They have a regulating activity of arthropods population which are harmful to vegetable in agricultural and forest field. In Algeria; two species of hedgehog are reported, the desert hedgehog Hemiechinus (Paraechinus) aethiopicus and the hedgehog of Algeria Atelerix algirus. This last specie is subject of our study. The diet of Atelerix algirus has been well studied in Algeria on The Haut Plateaux by BAZIZ (1991), in The Mitidja by DOUMANDJI and DOUMANDJI (1991 a et b), DERDOUKH et al. ( 2010 and 2011); near of Marsh of Reghaia by BAOUANE et al. (2004) and BAOUANE (2005), in Grande Kabylie by BENDJOUDI et DOUMANDJI (1996), TALMAT et al. (2004), MIMOUN et DOUMANDJI (2007) and BRAHMI et al. (2007) but few of these authors have treated the relationship between diet and food availabilities as BAOUANE (2005) and MIMOUN et DOUMANDJI (2007). With this aim, a comparison between availabilities of the ground and species inventoried in the trophic diet is made by using of Ivlev index.
MATERIAL AND METHODS The Mitidja is the most spacious plain of sub-coastal of Algeria. It is limited and dominated to North by height of the Sahel of Algiers, on South by relieves of Atlas Tellien , at the East by the first hills of the Grande Kabylie and on the West by Djebel Chenoua (Mutin 1977). Its area is of 1400 km2 (36°27’at 36°48’ N, 2°25’at 3°25’ E., Fig. 1). This study is made in two stations of The Mitidja, Baraki and Soumâa. The first station is situated at the South of El-Harrach (36°42’N, 3° O8’E) in an agricultural region characterized by plots intended for cereal and gardening culture which some of them are left in fallow. The second is the Universitary Campus of Soumâa which constituted on two parts separated by a road. It is composed by small spots occupied by olive growing and wine growing orchards and so by experimental areas. Within the