Seasonal Variations in Guanaco Diet (Lama-Guanicoe Muller 1776)and Food Availability in Northern Patagonia, Argentina

PUIG, S; VIDELA, F; MONGE, S; ROIG, V; SILVIA PUIG

JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 1996 vol. 34 p. 215 - 224

0140-1963

Composition and seasonal changes in guanaco diet were determined in La Payunia Protected Area through seasonal faecal sampling and food availability analysis. Diet included 32 genera of plants, mostly grasses and low shrubs. Summer use of forbs and winter use of high shrubs were more and less, respectively, than expected with regard to their availability. Seasonal alternation between grazing and browsing was detected. The herbaceous stratum provided the basic food of the guanaco; use and preference for the shrubby stratum increased when the availability of grasses and forbs decreased. Low summer selectivity may reflect the adaptability of the guanaco to the scarcity and unpredictable phenology of plants in arid environments