Volumen y Número: Nº 1

Los mamíferos del Parque Biológico, Sierra de San Javier, Tucumán, Argentina: observaciones sobre su sistemática y distribución

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Se presenta una lista actualizada de los mamíferos del Parque Biológico Sierra de San Javier, provincia de Tucumán. Este área incluye varios ambientes naturales ubicados en un gradiente altitudinal: Bosque Chaqueño Serrano, Bosque Montano Inferior, Bosque Montano Superior y Pastizal Húmedo de altura. La fauna de mamíferos del Parque comprende 55 especies, que incluyen 3 didelfimorfios, 1 edentado, 12 quirópteros, 10 carnívoros, 3 artiodáctilos, 25 roedores (3 no identificados), y 1 especie de lagomorfo. En el Orden Rodentia se registraron tres nuevas especies cuyo tratamiento será presentado en un trabajo posterior.

Mammals of the Parque Biológico Sierra de San Javier, Tucumán, Argentina: observations on their systematic and distribution. A list of species that inhabit the Parque Biológico Sierra de San Javier is presented. The area includes several natural habitats distributed in an altitudinal gradient from Chacoan Forests, Lower Montane Forests, Upper Montane Forests, to High Grasslands. The number of species in each order is as follows: three didelphimorphs, 1 edentate, 12 chiropterans, 10 carnivores, 3 artiodactyls, 25 rodents (3 unidentified), and one lagomorph. The Order Rodentia includes three unidentified specimens that are currently under study; descriptions of these new species will be presented at a later date. Most of the records for the rodents are new for the park. Two bats and four rodents are known from localities outside the park and it is possible that they may also occur in the park.

Rarity in primates: implications for conservation

A rare species contains a small absolute number of individuals, and theoretical and empirical ecologists have provided quantitative approaches to the study of differential species abundance (e.g., Preston, 1962 a, b; Gaston, 1994). The studies show that rare species are more “extinction prone” because they are more vulnerable to demographic, genetic, environmental, or catastrophic perturbations (e.g., mortality, inbreeding, habitat fragmentation, or drought, respectively). These perturbations cause “imbalances” of varying intensities, durations, frequencies, and rates which may cause population numbers to fluctuate below thresholds required for recovery. Some authors have defined and analyzed three domains of rarity: a “within-habitat” domain (alpha-rarity) (e.g., population density); a “between-habitat” domain (beta-rarity) (e.g., the number of different habitats occupied by a local population); and, a “geographic” domain (gamma-rarity) (e.g., the areal range of a species). It has been argued that species may be “extinction prone” because they occur in one or more domain of rarity and that causes of extinction may be multidimensional. These factors were studied in the Primate Order employing a subset of 97 species extracted from Wolfheim (1983). Trophic patterns for each dimension of rarity and for their combinations were also studied and found to vary from domain to domain. The broad habitat specificity of the Order implies that most species are distributed across a mosaic of edaphic and phytogeographic areas, responding with differential “norms of reaction” to stimulus patterns as they occur within and between populations. The conservation implications of the observed patterns are discussed, and a “signature” may be identified whereby Primates, broad habitat specialists, appear to display an association between endemism and low differentiation into subspecies and races. Endemism is favored where one finds poor vagility, poor survivorship, or poor colonization, traits thought to characterize large mammals, such as Primates. The traits that predispose Primates to extinction-vulnerability are components of the dimensions of rarity and may predict those strategies most likely to maximize the preservation of primate species diversity. It is concluded that Primates will be conserved where they coexist with other fauna and flora of greater ecological significance in “hotspots” of biological activity in large reserves that are close together.

Relevamiento de una población de huemul en la provincia de Río Negro, Argentina

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Se realizó un reconocimiento de una población de huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) en la zona del Cerro Ventisquero en el Río Manso Inferior. En la superficie estudiada se estimó el tamaño de la subpoblación de 9 adultos y 2 crías (1 huemul/km²) como una estimación conservativa. Esta fue calculada a partir de los avistajes y las huellas frescas. Los hábitats utilizados por los huemules fueron determinados a partir de los sitios con presencia de grupos de heces y de huellas frescas. La mayoría de las huellas (78.5%, n = 28) y grupos de heces (78%, n = 50) fueron encontrados en el ambiente prado andino. Cuatro especies nuevas de flora fueron identificadas en el espectro dietético del huemul: Valeriana lapathifolia, Berberis serrato, Gavilea lutea y Perezia prenanthoides. La predación del puma sobre el huemul fue confirmada. Se presentan recomendaciones para la conservación de esta población de huemul.

Survey of a huemul population in the province of Río Negro, Argentina. A population of huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) was studied in the area of Cerro Ventisquero in the Río Manso Inferior. A conservative estimate of the population size within the study area was 9 adults and 2 fawns (1 huemul/km²), based on direct observations and fresh track counts. Habitat use was evaluated using distribution of pellet groups and tracks. The majority of tracks (78.5%, n = 28) and pellet groups (78%, n = 50) were found in the Andean grassland (above tree line). Four new plant species were documented in the diet of the huemul: Valeriana lapathifolia, Berberis serrato, Gavilea lutea y Perezia prenanthoides. Mountain lion (Felis concolor) feces collected confirmed predation on huemul. As local inhabitants no longer use the upper slopes, this area could serve as a prime site for establishing a nature reserve to protect this population of huemul.

Odor incidence in the capture of wild rodents in Argentina

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Rodent trappability seems to be influenced by conspecific and heterospecific scented traps. This hypothesis prompted the present investigation into the response of Akodon azarae, Calomys venustus and Oxymycterus rufus to scented traps. Sherman-type live traps were scented with odors from A. azarae, C. venustus and O. rufus respectively. Capture response to odor was tested for species and sex. X² tests were applied to assess homogeneity between replications, and three-way G-tests for independence (species, sex and odour) were performed to establish the association among captures in traps scented with a given odor. In traps marked with the odor of male scent-donors, high frequency of capture of male and female A. azarae was recorded in the O. rufus-scented trap. Although capture of C. venustus resulted in very low percentages, there were significant sex differences. Conversely, O. rufus females and males responded to the homoespecific scent in high percentages. For traps bearing female scent, the capture of A. azarae and C. venustus males was more frequent in homospecific-scented traps, whereas the catch of females was reduced in both homospecific and heterospecific-scented traps. The tolerance of interspecific odors by A. azarae, C. venustus and O. rufus may explain the tolerance showed in the field by these species in the use of the same space. The intolerance of the intra and intersexual odors showed by A. azarae and C. venustus females support the spacial disposition of the individuals, and the polygynous mating system proposed for these rodent species.

Incidencia del olor en la captura de roedores en la Argentina. Bajo la hipótesis que los olores coespecíficos y heteroespecíficos en trampas influyen en la capturabilidad de roedores, el objetivo de este trabajo fue examinar la respuesta al olor en trampa de Akodon azarae, Calomys venustus y Oxymycterus rufus. Se colocaron trampas tipo Sherman impregnadas con olor de las especies mencionadas, considerando un sexo por vez. Se probó la respuesta de captura con respecto al olor por especie y sexo. Para probar la homogeneidad entre repeticiones se aplicaron pruebas X². La asociación entre las capturas con trampas impregnadas con determinado olor se estableció a través de pruebas de independencia G para tres factores (especie, sexo y olor). En trampas con olor de donadores machos, se registraron altos porcentajes de captura de A. azarae en la trampa con olor de O. rufus. Si bien C. venustus registró números de captura muy bajos, hubo diferencias significativas entre los sexos. Hembras y machos de O. rufus respondieron con elevados registros de captura al olor homoespecífico. En trampas con olor de hembras, los machos de A. azarae y C. venustus presentaron una marcada captura en trampas con olor homoespecífico; las hembras fueron escasamente capturadas. La tolerancia de olores interespecífico por A. azarae, C. venustus y O. rufus puede explicar la tolerancia mostrada en el campo por estas especies en el uso del mismo espacio. La intolerancia a los olores intra e intersexual mostrada por hembras de A. azarae y C. venustus apoyan la disposición espacial de los individuos y el sistema de apareamiento poligínico propuesto para estas especies.

Abundancia y distribución del guanaco (Lama guanicoe), en el NE del Chubut, Patagonia argentina

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En la Provincia de Chubut se otorgaron más de 118000 cupos de caza de guanacos (Lama guanicoe) en los últimos 10 años, aun cuando el conocimiento sobre la demografía de la especie es escaso y desactualizado. Para obtener información que permita un uso sostenido de este recurso se estudió la abundancia y distribución de guanacos en un área de aproximadamente 13000 km² correspondiente al Departamento Biedma, NE de la provincia de Chubut. El área de estudio, que incluye a la Península Valdés, reserva faunística provincial de 3800 km² de superficie, fue dividida en ocho estratos ambientales en base a características fisiográficas. Durante relevamientos aéreos, efectuados en febrero de 1995, se contaron guanacos y ovinos comprendidos dentro de unidades muestrales consistentes en fajas de ancho fijo y longitud variable. Se estimó para el Departamento un total de 12441 guanacos y 141334 ovinos, con errores de alrededor del 12%. Las densidades para la Península Valdés fueron de 0.59 guanacos y 21.38 ovinos/km². En el resto del área las densidades fueron de 1.09 y 6.45 animales/km² respectivamente. Las mayores densidades de guanacos se asociaron a regiones con depresiones y pendientes abruptas; las densidades menores se encontraron en regiones de meseta asociadas a estepas arbustivas o graminosas. Se encontró una correlación negativa significativa entre las densidades de guanacos y ovinos en función de los estratos ambientales. Las diferencias en las distribuciones responderían al efecto combinado de la competencia interespecífica y a las actividades antrópicas como agentes limitantes de la abundancia y distribución del guanaco.

Abundance and distribution of the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) in the NE of Chubut Province, Argentine Patagonia. We studied the abundance and distribution of guanacos living in an area of about 13000 km² in the NE of the Province of Chubut. The area includes the 3800–km² wildlife reserve of Península Valdés and was divided in eight zones, according to topography and vegetation. Aerial surveys were conducted following strip transects of fixed width and variable length on February 1995. A total of 12441 guanacos and 141334 sheep were estimated for the study area. Mean densities were 0.95 guanacos and 10.76 sheep per km². Sheep densities were higher than those of guanacos in all strata. The highest densities of guanacos occurred where sheep densities were lower than the average and the topography was uneven. Lowest guanaco densities were associated with plateaus with shrublands or grasslands. Densities of 0.59 guanacos and 21.38 sheep per km² were calculated for Península Valdés. Contrary to expectations, densities outside of the reserve were 1.09 and 6.45 animals per km², respectively. As the peninsula is the most productive part of the surveyed area, the distribution may respond to human-related factors such as extensive hunting and farming. Although guanaco population seems still healthy, local extinctions are likely to occur in the next 10 years if management is not rapidly improved.