Habitat corridors use by wildlife in wooded patches of an agricultural landscape in New Bussa, Nigeria.

This study assesses the dispersal and use of corridors by wildlife in wooded patches of an agricultural landscape in New Bussa. The study was undertaken to derive information on the species of wildlife associated with different habitat corridors in both wet and dry seasons in the area, as well as to determine their relative abundance and diversity in the area. The direct/indirect method of census was used. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (tables), and Analysis of Variance [ANOVA] was used to test if species distribution differed between habitats. The results showed that compared to the dry season, the rainy season had the greatest diversity of mammal species. In both the wet and dry seasons, there are more animal species in fencerows and hedgerows. During the two seasons, it was discovered that Agama agama, Rattus rattus of the Muridae family and Rousettus acguptiacus of the Pteropodidae family, Sciurus spermophilus, Sciurus carolinensis, and Epomophorus ganbianus were quite common in all habitat categories.. The Estrildidae family, followed by the Ardedae family, has the largest relative abundance among the various bird species. While avian species diversity in the three habitat types in the wet and dry seasons indicates substantial species diversity in all habitats, mammal species diversity between habitats was considerably low (P>0.05) in both the wet and dry seasons. Therefore, in the agricultural environment of New Bussa, all habitat corridors with representative samples of animals are valuable for wildlife conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]