Which habitats are selected by the endangered species Greater rhea (Rhea americana)? Recommendations for it conservation

GARCÍA ERIZE, FRANCISCO; GÓMEZ VILLAFAÑE, ISABEL

EMU

CSIRO PUBLISHING

Lugar: Collingwood; Año: 2016

0158-4197

The abundanceand spatial distribution of species is influenced by the distribution andavailability of resources. The objective of this study was to evaluate thelandscape structure that favours the conservation of a wild population of Rhea americana in El Palmar NationalPark (Entre Ríos, Argentina) and its adjacent agroecosystem.Rhea sightings and signs (i.e. faeces, footprints) and environmental variableswere recorded every 45 days from April 2011 to March 2012 in 51 sites. Theassociations between the habitat selection by rheas and landscape elements wereanalysed by means of generalised linear mixed models and generalised linearmodels. A total of 301 sightings were recorded in 57% of the sites. The habitatselection by rheas was associated with different variables which differedaccording to the reproductive season. Rheas selected sites with a simplelandscape matrix that favoured their movements, open spaces, sites near waterbodies and sites with low vegetation height, such as grasslands, crop fieldsand firewalls. However, especially in the breeding season, rheas would selectenvironments with closed vegetation. The main recommendations that emerge regardingmanagement and conservation of this species are the preservation and increaseof open grassland areas free of shrubs and the creation of grassland corridorsto favour patch connectivity.