DENNING ECOLOGY OF CONEPATUS CHINGA IN A FARMLAND AREA IN THE PAMPAS GRASSLAND OF ARGENTINA

CASTILLO, DIEGO; LUCHERINI, MAURO; CASANAVE, EMMA

Mendoza

Congreso; 10th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009

Virtually nothing is known about the ecology of the common Molina’s hog-nosed skunk Conepatus chinga. Since dens are essential components of most carnivore’s life and may be a limiting factor affecting abundance and distribution of populations, understanding denning habits of species is important to make management decisions.In this study we describe den site-selection and use of this mephitid in an unprotected farming area in the Pampas grasslands of south-western Buenos Aires province, Argentina. We identified 240 (male: n=91, female: n=149) den sites used by 9 radiocollared skunks (3 males and 6 females). There was no significant differences in the number of dens used by females and males (U=6.5, p=0.517). Most dens were found in underground burrows (81.7%), but males used more rock burrows than females (X2=15.41, df=1, p=0.001). The mean number of dens was 4.7 ±3.4 in the border region of individual home ranges and 12.2 ±5.7 in the core areas, where the density of dens was significantly higher (T=-3.01, n=9, p=0.002). The distribution of den sites was not homogeneous among habitats for either males (X2=72.51, df=2, p˂0.001) or females (X2=80.64, df=2, p˂0.001). Both sexes displayed a preference for native grassland and pasture. Den sites and random points did not differ in the distance to stream (U=2825, p˂0.65). However den sites were located closer to fences (U=20952, p˂0.001), roads (U=15112.5, p˂0.001), grass patches (U=15292.5, p˂0.001), abandoned (U=21310.5, p˂0.001) and used farmsteads (U=24500.5, p˂0.001), and habitat edges (U=16015, p˂0.001) than random points. On average 29% of den sites were reused by a skunk, with no intersexual variation (U=2889.5, p=0.2258).The association of C. chinga dens with areas of dense and moderate cover appears to make the species susceptible to changes in vegetation structure that could reduce protective habitat and a constant availability of food resources.