ECOLOGICAL VARIABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY TO ANTHROPOGENIC ALTERATIONS IN PAMPAS FOXES

CARUSO N.; LUENGOS VIDAL E.; LUCHERINI M.; FARIAS A.; BIROCHIO D.; CASANAVE E.

Mendoza

Congreso; 10th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009

The Pampas fox, Lycalopex gymnocercus, is a medium-sized South American fox, widely distributed and actively persecuted by men for preying upon livestock. Until a few years ago the information about it was scarce; its taxonomic situation continues uncertain and management measures are based on poor population monitoring. Recently several studies have been carried out on Pampas foxes in Buenos Aires Province, one of the most modified regions of Argentina. Our objective is to review the state of knowledge on the species and, considering the typical ecological plasticity of canids, analyze the variations in its diet, habitat use, activity patterns and spatial organization. We reviewed data from five areas. Trophic ecology was the most analyzed topic (all sites) and fox diet showed similarities between areas with a similar degree of modification. The principal prey items were rodents, orthoptera, coleoptera and birds; carrion was important in two areas (providing a supplementary food of anthropic origin). In the four areas where habitat use was studied foxes tended to prefer natural habitats in spite of the fact that these were, in some cases, densely vegetated (ej: Celtis tala woodland). Foxes were most nocturnal in modified areas, and their activity patterns (analyzed only in two areas) appeared to be affected more by human disturbance than by seasonal patterns or prey activities. Home range size (213.3±136.8 ha) did not vary between two areas with different human impact, although some variation was observed in its use and in the size of spatial groups, which ranged from pairs to small groups. Although the information about Pampas foxes is not abundant, these results show its capacity of adjusting behaviorally and ecologically to the environmental variations introduced by men. On the other hand, the preference for natural habitats suggests that there may be a limit to its flexibility.