Abstract
We studied abundance, habitat use and social structure of an isolated population of guanacos in the Lihue Calel National Park in central Argentina, based on data from foot surveys during 1998–2000. Based on topography and vegetation characteristics we distinguished three types of habitat: hills, valleys and piedmonts, and lowlands. Three types of social groups were observed: solitary males, family groups and male groups. The guanacos used hills preferentially, followed by valley and piedmont. The guanacos avoided the lowlands where the vegetation is dense. Habitat selection, both on a coarse and a fine scale, could be explained by habitat quality and possibly also predator avoidance behaviour. Abundance of guanacos increased by 21% over the 3-year-study period. However, the specificity of habitat requirements of guanacos and the susceptibility of the study area to wildfires could cause guanacos to move into sub-optimal areas were they are more vulnerable to predation and human persecution.
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Acknowledgements
We thank D. Muñoz, G. Tamborini, N. Grecco and V. Hochman for their valuable help during fieldwork. Lyn Branch, Silvia Puig, Jorge Cajal, and Javier García Fernández provided critical comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We thank Lyn Branch for langue correction. The National Park Administration made this work possible by giving permission to carry out fieldwork in Parque Nacional Lihue Calel. This study was supported by a grant (PI 096) from the Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. All research was conducted in accordance with Argentinean laws and guidelines.
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Sosa, R.A., Sarasola, J.H. Habitat use and social structure of an isolated population of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) in the Monte Desert, Argentina. Eur J Wildl Res 51, 207–209 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-005-0105-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-005-0105-0