IADIZA   20886
INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIONES DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Rangeland management and small mammal functional diversity loss in the Monte desert, Argentina
Autor/es:
CHILLO, MARÍA VERÓNICA Y RICARDO OJEDA
Lugar:
Mendoza, Argentina
Reunión:
Congreso; 10th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009
Institución organizadora:
CONICET, CCT Mendoza, IADIZA, GIB, International Federation of Mammalogist (IFM) y Sociedad Argentina para el Estudio de los Mamiferos (SAREM)
Resumen:
Rangeland production in arid ecosystems uses artificial watering points, generating radial grazing gradient patterns called piosphere. We analyzed the effect of piosphere over the structure and functional diversity of small mammal assemblages under two grazing systems. Three radial transects with ten sample points each were placed in an experimental rangeland with rotational grazing (RG) and in a neighbor rangeland with continuous grazing (CG), in the Monte desert, central-west Argentina. Sample points were separated by 50, 50, 50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 600, and 600 m from each other. Community structure was represented using range-abundance curves. Functional diversity (FD) was calculated using Rao’s index with 11 traits regarding nutrient cycling function and habitat use. Using Syncsa software we separated traits that maximized assemblage divergence patterns along the gradient. In both rangelands, community structure close to the watering point was highly dominated by one species with ecomorphological adaptations to open habitats (Eligmodontia sp.). Only under RG did the community diversify away from the water, with an exponential increase in FD beyond 1200 m (r=0.82, p