The effects of spatial and feeding ecology of pampas carnivores on their capacity of adaptation to habitat modifications

LUCHERINI MAURO; MANFREDI CLAUDIA; LUENGOS VIDAL ESTELA; CASTILLO DIEGO; SAVINI SIMONA; CASANAVE EMMA

Brasilia, Brasil

Conferencia; 19th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology; 2005

Society for Conservation Biology

Despite the Pampas being one of the largest ´and most strongly modified eco-regions´ of Argentina, almost nothing is known about its carnivores and the effects on them of habitat alterations. Here we present the first radiotelemetry and fecal analysis data on the Pampas fox, Pseudolopex gymnocercus, Geoffroyi´s cat, Oncifelis geoffiroyi, lesser grison, Galictis cuja, and common hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga, collected in a protected, area of the southern Pampas, and use them to understand the variations in carnivore guild composition (estimated through live-trapping frequency) between three areas with different degree of human impact. P. gymnocercus, which is abundant in all areas, has omnivorous and opportunistic feeding habits; its home range is comparatively small and uses all types of habitats. O. geoffiroyi, which no longer occurs in the most modified area and is rare in the other ones, has a relatively reduced food niche, large home ranges and shows a preference for habitats with dense vegetation. The cases of G. cuja and C. chinga would be intermediate. These results suggest that habitat, space and food requirements affect (he capacity of adaptation of carnivores to human modifications in the Pampas grasslands and provide guidelines for their conservation/management in this eco-region.