Non-volant small mammals recorded from Tyto furcata pellets in a human-modified landscape of Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with an updated regional checklist

Abstract

Owl pellets provide a valuable, non-invasive tool for documenting small mammal assemblages, particularly in areas lacking systematic faunal surveys. We used pellets of the American Barn Owl (Tyto furcata), collected during three sampling events (2022–2024), to document the non-volant small mammal fauna of a human-modified rural landscape in São Pedro dos Ferros, Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the first faunal record for this municipality. We identified 14 species, including two exotic rodents (Rattus sp. and Mus musculus), with a predominance of generalist taxa such as Calomys cf. cerqueirai, C. tener, Oligoryzomys nigripes, and Necromys lasiurus. Forest-dependent species, including Trinomys setosus and Gracilinanus microtarsus, were rare, suggesting that the owl, although typical of open habitats, also forages along forest edges. Species richness recorded here was lower than in nearby protected areas of the Zona da Mata, consistent with the site's extensive historical deforestation and current landscape composition, although differences in sampling method also likely contribute to this pattern. Combining these records with published surveys and museum data, we compiled an updated checklist of 59 non-volant small mammal species for the Zona da Mata mesoregion, including several endemic, rare, and threatened taxa. Our results reinforce the value of owl pellets as a complementary tool for small mammal inventories in poorly known, human-modified landscapes of the Atlantic Forest.