INVESTIGADORES
OVEJERO AGUILAR Ramiro Jose Antonio
artículos
Título:
Vigilance behaviour of the year-round territorial vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) outside the breeding season: influence of group size, social factors and distance to a water source
Autor/es:
MOSCA TORRES ME; PUIG SILVIA; NOVILLO AGUSTINA; OVEJERO RAMIRO
Revista:
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015
ISSN:
0376-6357
Resumen:
We conducted focal observations of vicuña, an year-around territorial mammal, to compare
vigilance behaviour between territorial and bachelor males outside the reproductive season. We
hypothesized that the time spent vigilant would depend on male social status, considering the potential
effects of several variables: sampling year, group size, distances to the nearest neighbour and to a vega
(mountain wetland). We fit GLM models to assess how these variables, and their interactions, affected
time allocation of territorial and bachelor males. We found non significant differences between
territorial and bachelor males in the time devoted to vigilance behaviour. Vigilance of territorial males
was influenced by the sampling year and the distance to the vega. In turn, vigilance in bachelor males
was influenced mainly by the sampling year, the group size and the distance to the vega. Our results
suggest that sampling year and distance to the vega are more important than social factors in
conditioning the behaviour of male vicuñas, during the non-reproductive season. Future studies of
behaviour in water-dependant ungulates, should consider the influence of water and forage
availabilities, and the interactions between group size and other variables.