A comparison of three methods to estimate geographical variations in the relative abundant of mountain vizcachas (Lagiduim viscacia) in the high Andes ecosystem

LUCHERINI, MAURO; REPUCCI, JUAN IGNACIO; LUENGOS VIDAL, ESTELA MARIS

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

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

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2009 vol. 16 p. 223 - 229

0327-9383

Mountain vizcachas are large rodents which constitute the main prey of the HighAndes meso-carnivores. We compared the line transect pellet count, observation rate andphotographic rate methods to estimate the relative abundance of Mountain vizcachas in theHigh Andes ecosystems. Although a more formal validation based on the comparison withtrue abundances is desirable, our results suggested that these simple and affordable indices arepromising methods, especially if protocols and sampling efforts are carefully standardized.We recommend the use of photographic rates, which are likely to provide the most reliableestimates, especially where Mountain vizcachas are active at night.