FACTORS DRIVING RODENT ABUNDANCE IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES OF CENTRAL ARGENTINA

ADDUCI, LUCIANA B.; BUSCH, MARÍA; LEON VANINA; FRASCHINA, JIMENA

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2023

0327-9383

Changes in land use in the Pampean region have led to an increase in pastures and cultivated fields and a decrease in native grasslands, which mainly remain at borders of cultivated fields. In Buenos Aires province there is a trend to increase the size of fields, eliminating the edges between them, and to increase the proportion of area cultivated with soybean. Borders function as corridors and refuges for native fauna, so this reduction may affect rodent abundance, although this effect may vary according to the species habitat affinities. Our goal was to evaluate the effect of the size of fields and the decrease in the proportion of border habitats on the rodent community. The study was conducted in Buenos Aires Province, Central Argentina. Rodents were surveyed in 12 fields and their borders. Overall rodent density and both species of Calomys showed negative effects of field size on their abundance, while for A. azarae there were no significant effects. Calomys laucha was more abundant in maize crop- fields, and Calomys musculinus did not show an effect of habitat, but its abundance in crop- fields increased with weed cover. Akodon azarae showed a strong habitat selection for borders. In summary, changes in the agricultural landscape with an increase in cropland at the expense of natural and semi natural habitats affect rodent communities and this effect would have consequences through their trophic interactions, both as consumers of plant and insect species as well as food sources for mammalian and avian predators.