Tafonomía, arqueología y conservación de especies silvestres: el caso de los huemules (Hippocamelus bisulcus) de lago La Plata (Chubut)

FERNÁNDEZ, PABLO MARCELO; FORLANO, ANA

Arqueología de Patagonia: una mirada desde el último confín

Utopías

Lugar: Ushuaia; Año: 2009; p. 743 - 748

Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) remains supposedly predated by pumas (Puma concolor) were analyzed. The bones -collected by biologists at Lago La Plata (Chubut Province, Argentina)- represent residual assemblages from carnivore killing activities and in situ consumption. Several lines of evidence -predator and prey behavior, taphonomic models of puma predation on other ungulates in Patagonia, and class, morphology, and diameter of carnivore tooth damage on bones- confirm puma action on huemul remains. Abrasion was also observed in assemblages recovered on the lake shore or directly in the water, produced by the interaction between bones, pebble beach and waves. Near lakes shores puma residual assemblages could be mixed up with archaeological remains. Nevertheless, persistence of palimpsest will depend on sediments characteristics and on carnivore feeding intensity. Results also contribute to the conservation biology of huemul, a species threatened by extinction, by establishing the magnitude of puma predation on deer population of Lago La Plata and confirming the importance of lakes in the huemul´s predator avoidance behavior.