PRECIPITATION DRIVES REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY IN MALE Microcavia australis IN THE MONTE DESERT

FORN?S, MIGUEL WALTER; NORDENSTAHL M; GIANNONI S; ANDINO N; PRIOTTO J

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

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

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2016 vol. 23 p. 17 - 24

0327-9383

Desert areas represent heterogeneous environments where animals must reproduce under extreme conditions, and where a combination of environmental factors may contribute to trigger or inhibit reproduc-tion. Microcavia australis is a caviomorph rodent that occurs in arid and semiarid habitats of Argentina. We examined how reproductive activity in male M. australis from a Monte Desert population is responsive to en-vironmental conditions, including precipitation. Our results showed that reproductive activity of these animals is predicted exclusively by precipitation. This research adds new evidence to the ecology of this species, which could explain its wide distribution.