Effect of Ecosystem Engineering by Ctenomys mendocinus on Arthropod Functional Groups

BORRUEL, N; C. E. BORGHI; A MANGEAUD

Mendoza

Congreso; The 10 th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009

CCT-MENDOZA-CONICET; International Federation of Mammalogists

By definition, ecosystem engineers are organisms that directly or indirectly modulate the availability of resources to other species, by causing physical state changes in biotic or abiotic materials. In so doing they modify, maintain and/or create habitats. The objective of this work was to assess how plant consumption and soil excavation by Ctenomys mendocinus affected arthropod functional groups present in the community. The study was conducted in the multiple-use private reserve ‘‘Don Carmelo’’ (30° 57´S, 69° 05´W), which is located in the Puna of San Juan Province, Argentina, at 3100 m a.s.l. We set up pitfall traps on five different sites, each with two distinct situations: engineered and unmodified patches. In engineered patches, pitfalls where set under Artemisia mendozana and on bare soil, and in unmodified patches they were under Lycium chanar, Stipa sp., Artemisia mendozana and on bare soil. We grouped sixteen families, belonging to seven different orders, into five distinct functional groups: herbivores, phytophagous feeders, predators, detritivores and omnivores. For analyzing data we used a multi-response permutation procedure (MRPP) with PC-ORD program, with a Bray Curtis distance measure. As results we found that all the functional groups show significant differences between areas: herbivores (d=0.31; p