Commensal small mammal trapping data in Southern Senegal, 2012-2015

As part of projects aimed at studying 1) the role of invasive black rat populations in the emergence of zoonotic diseases in Southeastern Senegal, and 2), the evolutionary consequences of parasites in R. rattus and M. musculus invasions in Senegal, we conducted a series of field campaigns throughout the southern part of the country, between May 2012 and September 2015. The objective was to catch commensal (= indoor) small mammals using standard trapping procedures, identify them using morphological or, if needed, molecular tools, and take a number of samples from them upon autopsy, to look for zoonotic parasites and pathogens.

Along with data on individual specimens, information on microhabitat were gathered at each trap position. This resulted in the constitution of a dataset of more than 13.000 trapnights, which allowed the capture of 3166 small mammals, all characterized by a series of associated biological, geographical and environmental data. The small mammals concerned are mainly rodents (10 species), and a few species of shrews and hedgehogs.