NATURAL HISTORY OF TERRESTRIAL SMALL MAMMALS (DIDELPHIMORPHIA AND RODENTIA) FROM PARQUE NACIONAL LIHUE CALEL, LA PAMPA PROVINCE, ARGENTINA

TETA, PABLO; PEREIRA, JAVIER; FRACASSI, NATALIA; BISCEGLIA, SILVINA; ROUAUX, JULIA; GASPERO, PABLO; PERRIG, PAULA; CALLICÓ FORTUNATO; ROBERTA G.; DE TOMMASO, DANIELA; MUSCHETTO, EMILIANO; BRUN, ANAHI; SERRANO, SOLEDAD

Mendoza

Congreso; 10th International Mammalogical Congress Abstracts: Mendoza, Argentina, 9-14 August 2009; 2009

We studied the terrestrial small mammal (< 500 g) assemblages from Parque Nacional Lihué Calel (37°57’S, 65°33’W, La Pampa Province, Argentina) and surrounding areas using trapping data (11,720 traps/nights), field observations and analysis of owl pellet and felid and canid feces samples. The study area is included within the Pampean subdistrict of the Northern district of the Monte Desert. The landscape displays a mosaic of creosote bush of the genus Larrea, mixed shrub patches, grasslands and rocky outcrops. Field work was conducted during 2003-2008. Information about habitat, ecology, reproduction, and population structure is provided for the didelphid marsupials Lestodelphys halli and Thylamys pallidior, the cricetid rodents Akodon azarae, Akodon molinae, Calomys musculinus, Eligmodontia typus, Graomys griseoflavus, Oligoryzomys longicaudatus, and Reithrodon auritus, and the caviomorph rodents Ctenomys cf. C. azarae, Galea musteloides, Microcavia australis, and Tympanoctomys barrerae. In addition, we comparedthe studied assemblage with others small mammal communities in arid and semi-arid areas of Argentina.