Patterns of habitat use and selection by the capybara ( Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ): a landscape-scale analysis

CORRIALE, MARÍA JOSÉ; HERRERA, EMILIO

ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH

SPRINGER TOKYO

Lugar: Tokyo; Año: 2014 vol. 29 p. 191 - 201

0912-3814

Habitat selection analysis provides useful information on how animals become distributed in re- sponse to spatial heterogeneity. Here, we analyze the habitat use and selection of different water bodies (marsh, swamps and round shallow lakes) by capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and their relation to envi- ronmental variables during contrasting climate-hydro- logical seasons in the Esteros del Ibera´ (Corrientes, Argentina). We evaluated the intensity of use by ca- pybaras through the total number of individuals (abundance) in each water body, the number and mean size of social groups, and the physical and vegetation characteristics of the environment. The capybaras used marsh and swamps according to availability in both seasons, while they used rounded shallow lakes less than their available would suggest in summer. The use intensity of different rounded shallow lakes estimated based on group size did not show significant differences. In contrast, significant differences were observed when evaluated by the number of individuals in each rounded shallow lake. Different intensity of use was closely associated with environmental and vegetation charac- teristics. The results show that habitat suitability for capybaras is associated with vegetation cover and ??embalsados?? in the low-lying area rather than with the morphometry of the rounded shallow lakes. The pattern of habitat selection may depend on forage quality, water availability for thermoregulation and mating, and pre- sence of shelter and resting sites. On the other hand, the present study shows how the size, shape and the abun- dance of different types of water bodies affect population abundance and density.