POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF MAMMALS TO HUMAN WELLBEING IN ARGENTINA

VIRGINIA ALONSO ROLDÁN; MICAELA CAMINO; ANTONELLA ARGOITIA; CLAUDIA M. CAMPOS; NICOLAS CARUSO; ELENA B. EDER; RICARDO BALDI; DIEGO E. BIROCHIO; FLAVIO M. CAPPA; M. VICTORIA LASSAGA; M. LUZ OLMEDO; ANAHÍ FORMOSO; VALERIA C. D´AGOSTINO; CAMILA S. GONZÁLEZ NOSCHESE; DANIEL UDRIZAR SAUTHIER; CECILIA P. JUÁREZ; MARIANA DEGRATI; MARTÍN IGLESIAS; LORENA COELHO; AILIN SOSA DROUVILLE; JOSÉ W. PRIOTTO

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Año: 2022

0327-9383

Mammals are key components of biodiversity mediating ecosystem functions, mainly because of this group's diversity of forms and functions. Understanding and making explicit the role of mammals underpinning Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) or directly contributing to human well-being would help to influence policy formulation towards sustainable development and nature conservation. During a workshop held at XXXII Jornadas Argentinas de Mastozoología and subsequent collaborative work, we compiled the information related to Mammal’s Contributions to People in Argentina (MCP-Arg) based on the participants’ interpretation of available literature and their field experience. Argentinian mammals contribute to 12 of the 18 NCP defined. We deduced numerous MCP-Arg from studies mainly focused on ecological processes and conservation, showing a gap in information on MCP-Arg description, quantification and mapping. All taxa contribute similarly to total contributions, highlighting the importance of preserving mammal diversity. Conservation should also be framed at a local community scale rather than a regional one, aiming to preserve ecological functioning and the contribution to human well-being, especially within regulation contributions. Our results showed destructive feedback between threats and habitat-related contributions, with habitat degradation being the main threat to mammals´ contributions and habitat maintenance the most threatened one. Our research shows that a substantial amount of knowledge on MCP-Arg is available through narratives and interpretation. Considering the NCP approach to mammalian research, we can make sound contributions both to mammal conservation and human well-being.