A UWC student is demystifying the small rodent commonly known as the Cape gerbil (Gerbilliscus afra).
Until recently, little was known about the adorable, gnawing, indigenous creature.
BSc Masters student in Conservation Biology, Kyle Jantjies, said the reason for the small rodent not being a popular topic of study is likely because it is generally regarded as a pest among farmers.
“When the project presented itself to me, I wasn’t very informed about gerbils, but as I did my literature review I grew more invested in these creatures. They are extremely cute and docile. You can literally pick them up from the wild and they won’t show any aggression.
“Farmers often complain about them eating the roots of their crops, as they are burrowing animals,” said Jantjies, noting however that every animal is beneficial to the environment, specifically to the niche in which it belongs.
“It is a member of the Muridae family and a species endemic to South Africa, particularly to the Western Cape region. Two other gerbil species exist, but occur in other provinces within South Africa.”
With his study Jantjies aimed to identify the active ectoparasite present and understand relationships among individual genotypes within the Cape gerbil species
“The study showed a large infestation of Androlaelaps theseus as the dominant mite present on G afra and identified two distinct clades when comparing the populations from the Cape Flats Nature Reserve and the Koeberg Nature Reserve.
“The clades, which are separate groups on the genetic tree, provide some evidence of forming new species between the populations.”
Jantjies said while their main predator is the barn owl, the Cape gerbil are hardy creatures and are not endangered as they have excellent survival skills. Their population is currently threatened by “fracturing”, which includes developments such as buildings and roads being constructed within their habitats.
Fragmented habitats are the physical barriers to gene flow that may be the driving force for “allopatric speciation”, when evolution creates a genetically independent group between populations.
“I chose to study gerbils because they are a relatively unknown species of rodent. If you ask the general public what a gerbil is, 80% of them will not know what they are, even though they are quite common creatures,” said Jantjies.
Cape Times