Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

Table 2. Estimates of density and abundance of Starck’s hares for each site.
Total
Study sites Season Density
Sanetti
Tullu Deemtu
Web Valley
(Kotera)
95% Confidence
interval (CI) Abundance 95% CI
Wet 25.40 17.43-37.01 3400 2300-4900
Dry 21.17 14.59-30.73 2800 1900-4100
Wet 16.11 10.71-24.23 1400 1000-2200
Dry 10.31 7.05-15.10 900 600-1300
Wet 13.54 9.28-19.74 1600 1100-2400
Dry 8.51 5.88-12.33 1000 700-1500
Wet 18.35 12.47-26.99 6300 4300-9200
Dry 13.33 9.17-19.39 4600 3100-6600
The results of the line intercept vegetation sampling from the Sanetti Plateau are given in
Table 3. Twenty seven species were found in the wet season and 23 in the dry season. However,
the proportion of plant species changed dramatically between the seasons (Table 3).The most
abundant plant species in the study area were Festuca spp., Alchemilla abyssinica, Helichrysum
spp. and Trifolium species. During the dry season, wetland plants were available for feeding. These
include Carex monostachya, Ranunculus oreophytus, Haplocarpha rueppelli and Trifolium acaule.
Although Festuca spp. and Alchemilla spp. decreased in coverage during the dry season, their
relative abundance was high. The percentage of plant cover is relatively high during the wet season
(65.21%) and low (< 30%) during the dry season.
Of the 27 plant species identified from the study area, Starck’s hares entirely fed on four
species of monocotyledons (grasses) during the wet season; Festuca spp., Koeleria capensis,
Agrostis gracilifolia, and Carex monostachya (Table 4). During the dry season, a number of species
of dicotyledonous plants were also included in the diet, though the proportion of monocotyledons
was still high (Table 4).
<strong>Walia</strong>-<strong>Special</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> on the Bale Mountains 56