Degradación del bosque y uso de hábitat de lagartos del Chaco Occidental

PELLEGRIN, NICOLAS; ECHEVARRIA, ADA L.; CHANI, JOSE M.; BUCHER, ENRIQUE H.

Córdoba

Congreso; Congreso Nacional de Herpetología; 2007

Sociedad Argentina de Herpetologia

Human-induced degradation of Chaco forests has led to a mosaic of habitats with a varying degree of forest conditions, which offers different habitat suitability characteristics to the native fauna. Understanding the mechanisms by which the fauna associates with different forest conditions, and particularly with specific microhabitat characteristics, provides an important tool for the conservation of natural habitats as well as for outlining restoration projects. Abundance and microhabitat use of Teius teyou, Liolaemus chacoensis, Cnemidophorus ocellifer and Tropidurus etheridgei were analyzed in the western Chaco forest of Argentina. We compared two areas with contrasting forest conditions’ using diurnal visual encounter surveys along one-km transects. Each lizard observed was assigned to the microhabitat category where it was recorded (bare ground, litter/grass/herbs or shrubs). Based on our data and previous reports, a habitat profile was defined for each species. T. teyou, L. chacoensis and C. ocellifer showed changes in microhabitat preferences and abundance between sites, with a general trend to prefer bare ground in a well-preserved forest and shrub cover in degraded areas. Our results indicate that microhabitat selection in lizards is a plastic and opportunistic process, probably regulated by the thermal requirements of each species. From a management point of view, preservation of spatial heterogeneity in terms of vegetation condition and microhabitat availability appears to be a key tool to improve habitat quality for lizards.