INIBIOMA   20415
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN BIODIVERSIDAD Y MEDIOAMBIENTE
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
The guanaco?s (Lama guanicoe) key antipredator mechanism.
Autor/es:
TARABORELLI PAULA; GREGORIO PABLO; MORENO, PABLO; NOVARO, A.; CARMANCHAHI, PABLO
Revista:
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 91 p. 82 - 89
ISSN:
0376-6357
Resumen:
The concept of sociality has been associated with the effectiveness of antipredator mechanisms, like
cooperative vigilance and the dilution effect. Lama guanicoe (guanaco) is a social native herbivore in South
America and a social species. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antipredator responses of
different-sized groups of guanacos in areas with varying predation risks and to determine antipredator
mechanisms in guanacos. For this, we measured different antipredator responses to a potential predator
(human subjects). Detection of predator and flight distances from predator both increased with a greater
number of guanacos per group and with greater distances among guanacos within the social group. Both
buffer distance and flight time decreased with a greater number of guanacos per group, but increased with
greater distances among guanacos inside the social group. Solitary adult males moved shorter distance
and mixed groups moved greater distances. Flight distances were greater in areas with tall and dense
vegetation than in areas with low vegetation. Buffer distance and flight time were shorter in undulating
land than on flat lands, and groups were usually observed on hill slopes. Our results suggest that the
benefit of social grouping in guanacos is the increased probability of avoiding predator with cooperative
vigilance and not with the dilution effect. This means that a predator could be detected earlier when
approaching a guanaco group than when approaching a solitary individuals and could thus be avoided.