Factors affecting home range size and overlap in Calomys venustus (Muridae: Sigmodontinae) in Argentine agroecosystems

PRIOTTO JOSÉ; STEINMANN AANDREA; POLOP JAIME

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR SAUGETIERKUNDE-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN BIOLOGY

Año: 2002 p. 97 - 104

0044-3468

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:ES; mso-fareast-language:ES;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:393042052; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:1680930966 -65779340 1531607090 201981979 201981967 201981977 201981979 201981967 201981977 201981979;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:18.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:18.0pt; text-indent:-18.0pt; color:windowtext; mso-ansi-font-weight:bold; mso-ansi-font-style:normal; text-underline:#000000;} @list l0:level2 {mso-level-text:%2-; mso-level-tab-stop:72.0pt; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; color:windowtext; mso-ansi-font-weight:bold; mso-ansi-font-style:normal; text-underline:#000000;} ol {margin-bottom:0cm;} ul {margin-bottom:0cm;} --> In this study, information concerning home range size and overlap of Calomys venustus (Thomas, 1894), in relation to sex, population size, and breeding periods is provided. The present study was carried out on a railway bank in southern Córdoba Province (Argentina), between October 1994 and September 1997, using the capture-mark-recapture method. Home range size in C. venustus depended on breeding period and population size, and was independent of sex. The degree of home range overlap was dependent on breeding and non-breeding periods and overlap type (intra- or intersexual), but was independent of population density. During the breeding period, females showed a small degree of intrasexual home range overlap. In general, male home ranges largely overlapped with females. The conclusion is that differences in home range size of C. venustus could be determined by season and population size. Moreover, the degree of inter- and intrasexual home range overlap during the breeding period suggested that males and females of C. venustus use space differently. Females did not share their home range with other females, while males fully shared it with both sexes, and male spacing is influenced by female distribution. Key words: Calomys venustus; spatial organization; population density; Argentine agroecosystems