MACRO AND MICROHABITAT PATTERNS OF HABITAT USE AND SELECTION BY WILD BOAR IN LOS ALERCES NATIONAL PARK

PANEBIANCO, ANTONELLA; VILA, ALEJANDRO; BÓ, ROBERTO FABIÁN; GREGORIO, PABLO

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

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

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2019 vol. 26 p. 143 - 154

0327-9383

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an invasive species and currently considered as one ofthe most dangerous species around the world. Although its negative impacts on ecosystems havebeen broadly described, little is known about its patterns of habitat use in protected areas of SouthAmerica. In this study, we assessed macro and microhabitat patterns of habitat use and selection ofwild boar in Los Alerces National Park, Argentina, during two contrasting study periods (springsummer and autumn-winter). We surveyed 115 sampling plots to estimate use and availability ofmacrohabitat and microhabitat variables. Our results showed that Lomatia hirsuta forest wasselected at the macrohabitat scale in both study periods, while Nothofagus pumilio forest andValdivian evergreen rainforest were used significantly less than their availability, and therefore,they were avoided. At a microhabitat scale, we found that wild boars used low slopes and highcanopy covers. The use of L. hirsuta forest was also associated with SE exposure and intermediateproportion of ground cover. This study is one of the first attempts to assess wild boar habitat useand selection at two scales in protected areas dominated by temperate forest in Patagonia and theresults obtained might be helpful to design management actions to control this invasive species andunderstand its ecological role.