INVESTIGADORES
BORGHI Carlos Eduardo
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
CTENOMYS MENDOCINUS, A KEYSTONE SPECIES AND AN ECOSYSTEM ENGINEER AT THE SOUTH OF THE PUNA
Autor/es:
C. E. BORGHI; BORRUEL, N; N. ANDINO; CANOVAS, MG; A. SRUB; F. CAPPA
Lugar:
Mendoza
Reunión:
Congreso; The 10 th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009
Institución organizadora:
CCT-MENDOZA-CONICET; International Federation of Mammalogists
Resumen:
Keystone species are those species whose impact on its community or ecosystem in a manner disproportionately large in relation to its abundance. Ecosystem engineer species are those who modulate directly or indirectly the availability of resources to other species, by causing physical state changes in biotic or abiotic materials. Many studies have suggested that others subterranean rodents could be considered as ecosystem engineers. Within this framework, we studied the role of Ctenomys in the functioning of the Puna ecosystem, at the Reserva Don Carmelo, San Juan, Argentina at 3150 m asl. We found that Ctenomys activities modified soil, vegetation structure, plant survival, floration, fructification, seed production and seedling emergence. It also indirectly modified the thermal landscape by its effect on the substrate and plant cover. As a combination of their effect as keystone species and an ecosystem engineer, their indirect effects modify plant composition, plant cover, and the distribution and abundance of animal species. For example, increasing relative abundances of lizard (e.g. Liolaemus ruibali), modified habitat use of big mammals like guanacos (Lama guanicoe), or birds as Oreopholus ruficollis, Muscisaxicola alpina and Geositta cunicularia. The activity of Ctenomys switches from a community structured by bottom up process (growth limiting resources like water and temperature) toward a community structured by top down process (by herbivory of Ctenomys population). Then, Puna populations can be under a dual control by resources and subterranean herbivores in a cycle of approximately 5 years long.