Abstract
The fieldwork for non-volant small mammals, including rodents and shrews, has been built on the selection of suitable trapping techniques. However, the need to accelerate taxonomic studies has favored the choice of removal methods, especially in Afrotropical regions. This study aims to analyze the efficiency of live-trapping methods for taxonomic studies of non-volant small mammals in tropical rainforests, such as Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda. Various aspects of the fieldwork conducted over the last 16 years demonstrate the efficiency of strict non-invasive methods in field studies of non-volant small mammals within biodiverse tropical ecosystems. Based on field experiences, this work covered fundamental aspects of live trapping, baiting, euthanasia for specimen collection, handling animals, marking animals, DNA tissue sample collection, health and sampling safeguards, and trap visit frequencies. Non-volant small mammals should be sampled more ethically and efficiently in field research by combining live trapping methods, such as Sherman and pitfall traps, applying euthanasia with safer chemicals like isoflurane, and collecting DNA samples for molecular studies with the safest means, such as tail tipping. The study recommends prioritizing live field trapping and associated DNA tissue sample collection from live non-volant small mammals in tropical biodiversity hotspots, and discouraging overly invasive sampling efforts that favor specimen-based taxonomic studies. Related field practices, based on a sample of recent studies focusing on similar ecosystems and the East African region, have been highlighted, along with study limitations and future avenues of research on the same study area and beyond.
Keywords: Capture-Mark-Recapture, DNA Tissue, Fieldwork, Live-Trapping, Nyungwe, Small Mammals.