Role of diet selection in the use of habitat by pampas cavies (Cavia aperea pamparum, Mammalia, Rodentia)

GUICHÓN ML Y MH CASSINI

MAMMALIA

WALTER DE GRUYTER & CO

Año: 1998 vol. 62 p. 23 - 35

0025-1461

Wild guinea pigs (cavies: Cavia aperea pamparum) are neotropical rodents that frequently inhabit linear habitats as field margins and roadsides which have a zone of tall and dense vegetation. Cavies use them for protection from predators, and feed in adjacent open zones of short vegetation. The aim of this study is to determine the factors that influence the spatial distribution of cavies along these linear habitats. Our hypothesis was that diet preferences for certain plant species or group of species influenced the use of space by cavies. The study area was a near roadside of 750 m long, sampled in winter and summer. Diet selection was studied by microhistological analysis of faeces and by field experiments. The composition of the vegetation was sampled by a punctual interception method and abundance of cavies was estimated by direct observation of the animals. Cavies preferred Gramineae plants and, in particular, Lolium sp.; but animal distribution along the roadside was not related to these plant preferences. Other characteristics of the feeding sites, e.g. quality of the food with respect to its water content, availability of shade, and differential predation risk, could explain the spatial distribution of the animals. This is the first systematic study of diet and habitat use conducted on cavies, and combines observational and experimental studies in the field to study the relationship between these two important aspects of behavior. <!--[endif]--> <!--[endif]-->