Herbivory by tuco-tucos (Ctenomys mendocinus) on shrubs in the upper limit of the Monte desert (Argentina).

TORT, J.; CLAUDIA MONICA CAMPOS; BORGHI, CARLOS EDUARDO

Mammalia

Año: 2004 vol. 68 p. 15 - 21

0025-1461

Summary.- Ctenomys (tuco-tucos) are small fossorial herbivorous rodents who live in the Monte desert, and the genus is probably one of the most abundant and widely distributed in this arid lands. The aim of this study is to describe the impact of C. mendocinus´ herbivory on shrubs in two plant communities in the upper limit of the Monte desert, and to assess the association between environmental variables and level of damage caused by tuco-tucos. Herbivory by tuco-tucos affected 39% of the total shrubs in Villavicencio, and 9% of the total plants sampled in DivisaderoLargo. In Villavicencio, the most highly damaged species were Larrea divaricata (65%) and Lycium chilensis (41%), Junellia seriphioides (38%), and Menodora decemfida (33%). In Divisadero Largo, damage was lower: J. seriphioides (14%), Lycium chilensis (9%), and M. decemfida (6%). With respect to the associationbetween level of damage caused by tuco-tucos and environmental variables, in Divisadero Largo the level of damage was negatively correlated with both maximum and mean soil depth, while in Villavicencio it was negatively correlated with plant cover, and positively correlated with maximum and mean soil depth.There was no correlation between level of damage caused by tuco-tucos and mean stone diameter.