Habitat selection and coexistence in small mammals of the southern Andean foothills (Argentina)

NOVILLO, AGUSTINA; CUEVAS, M. FERNANDA; OJEDA, AGUSTINA A; OVEJERO, RAMIRO J. A; TORRES, MOSCA; OJEDA, RICARDO A

Mammal Research

SPRINGER

Año: 2017 vol. 62 p. 219 - 227

2199-2401

Abstract Habitat partitioning is considered one of the mainmechanisms of coexistence among small mammals. This isespecially evident in arid environments where resources areparticularly scarce. Habitat characteristics such as vegetationheterogeneity and complexity are expected to increase speciescoexistence, increasing the number of microhabitats that canbe occupied by species with different requirements. TheAndean foothills can be considered as an ecotone betweenthe Monte and Altoandina phytogeographic provinces as theyharbor species from both. Consequently more species arethought to coexist in this area. The objectives of this studywere to assess the macro- and microhabitat selection of thesmall mammal assemblage inhabiting the Andean foothillsduring wet and dry season and to determine how animalssegregate environmental resources to ensure their coexistence.We found that habitat selection occurs at both scales in theAndean foothills. Two species, Eligmodontia moreni andPhyllotis xanthophygus, were capable of distinguishingamong macrohabitat types, whereas all species showed habitatselection at the microhabitat scale. We registered selectionduring both seasons, with some overlap of resource selectionduring the wet season and the greatest segregation of microhabitatresources during the dry season. Therefore, this workevidence that the assembly of small mammals is sensitive tohabitat structure especially in dry seasons where resources areconstraints due to arid conditions of Andean foothills.