EDUNACHI: Editorial de la Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí.
Abstract
The potential effects of climate change on the community assemblage of tropical montane species have increased the
interest in understanding these species' current ecology from several perspectives. Nonetheless, the
inconspicuousness of some species may have promoted that groups of small mammals, such as shrews, have escaped
the general interest of local researchers in Mesoamerica. Here field-based approximations are presented for the
density of the Small-eared shrew (Cryptotis nigrescens) in Panama. Shrews were collected in a grid system using
Sherman live traps at the Parque Internacional La Amistad, a locality that offers a scenario for developing studies of
interspecific interactions between C. nigrescens and other small mammals. A maximum density of 19 individuals per
hectare was registered in a single day, and an average of 5.3 individuals per hectare based on the days with effective
captures; suggesting that C. nigrescens is common in the study area. It is considered imperative to study the ecology
of this shrew, which is restricted to the fragile montane environments, before they disappear
