THE PLOT THICKENS: A NEW SOCIAL TUCO-TUCO FROM NORTHERN ARGENTINA

LACEY, EILEEN A.; CUELLO, PABLO A.; WOODRUFF, J. A; TAMMONE MAURO N.; WIECZOREK JOHN. R.

Congreso; 91st Annual Meeting The American Society of Mammalogists - A Joint Meeting With The Australian Mammal Society; 2011

Independently evolved examples of group living provide valuable opportunities to test hypotheses regarding the adaptive bases for social behavior. Among ctenomyid rodents, quantitative evidence of group living has - until now - been limited to a single species, the colonial tuco-tuco (C. sociabilis). Here, we demonstrate that the highland tuco-tuco (C. opimus) is also social. Live-trapping and radiotelemetry data indicate that multiple adult C. opimus share the same burrow system and nest site. Unlike C. sociabilis, however, group mates display only partial spatial overlap with one another and groups are not characterized by discrete spatial boundaries. Based on these data, the social structure of C. opimus appears to be intermediate to that of C. sociabilis and strictly solitary species of tuco-tucos. This new evidence for behavioral variation among tuco-tucos underscores the importance of ctenomyid rodents for comparative studies of the ecological and evolutionary bases for group living.