Evaluating microhabitat selection by Calomys musculinus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Western Argentina using luminous powders

CORBALÁN, V.; DEBANDI, G.

MASTOZOOLOGíA NEOTROPICAL

SAREM

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2009 vol. 16 p. 205 - 210

0327-9383

Habitat selection is a process in which an animal chooses from alternative habitats available to it. It is a hierarchical process that can occur at a variety of spatial scales, ranging from the macrohabitat to the microhabitat level. Calomys musculinus is an omnivorous small rodent found in central and northwestern Argentina. Associations of this species with measured habitat variables changed depending on the habitat and the scale considered. All of the studies conducted on habitat use by this species used live traps, and attempts to find associations between microhabitat variables and captures of individuals of this species were unsuccessful.     In this study we applied the technique of luminous powders to follow the tracks of animals and estimate microhabitat selection. The study was conducted in three distinctive habitats at the Ñacuñán Biosphere Reserve (Mendoza, Argentina). A global analysis did not detect microhabitat selection by C. musculinus, but microhabitat selection was detected at more fine scale. Individuals from the creosotebush community selected complex microhabitats, but they differed regarding avoided categories. In contrast, individuals from the mesquite forest selected open microhabitats, whereas individuals from sand dunes selected shrub cover and avoided open microhabitats (bare soil and herbs). The evidence suggests that C. musculinus perceives different scales of habitat heterogeneity as found by other authors in crop areas of the Pampean region of Argentina.