Dietary change of North Patagonian guanacos: A historical ecology perspective through the study of stable isotopes

GIL, ADOLFO F; OTAOLA, CLARA; DOMBROSKY, JONATHAN; LUNA, MARTÍN; QUIROGA, GISELA; DAUVERNÉ, ARMADO; WOLVERTON, STEVE; PEREYRA LOBOS, ROBERTO; NEME, GUSTAVO

HOLOCENE (SEVENOAKS)

SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD

Año: 2024

0959-6836

This paper presents the results of a study on the isotopic ecology of guanacos in central western Argentina. We examine the historical populationecology of guanacos using stable isotope analysis of bone collagen from pre-Hispanic and modern guanaco populations (n = 129), considering variabilityin two ecoregions: the Monte hot desert and the Andean-Patagonian cold desert. Our study addresses the consistency of guanaco diets over time,evaluating palaeoecology to provide information for conservation of this taxon. We found significant differences in isotopic niche size between modernand archaeological guanacos. When analyzed by ecoregion, there were significant differences in niche size through time, indicating that guanacos haddistinctive dietary habits and occupied different ecological niches across the ecoregions. Comparing Standard Ellipse Areas (SEA) through time and acrossspace, we observed that the archaeological SEA for guanacos is smaller than its modern counterpart in the Andean-Patagonia ecoregion. Conversely,in Monte, the archaeological SEA is larger than the one established for modern samples. The contrast between pre-Hispanic and modern populationshighlight the impact of human activity and conservation efforts on the distribution and ecology of guanacos. These findings have important implicationsfor understanding guanaco ecology with consequences for conservation policies.