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Hernandez, F.; Galvez, N.; Gimona, A.; Laker, J.; Bonacic, C.
Activity patterns by two colour morphs of the vulnerable gui¤a, _Leopardus guigna_ (Molina 1782), in temperate forests of southern Chile
2016 Gayana (79): 102-105
Here we provide the first analysis of activity patterns exhibited by spotted and melanistic colour morphs of the vulnerable gui¤a_ Leopardus guigna_, in a forest landscape of southern Chile. Camera traps showed gui¤as were mainly active at night (64% of photos). Melanistic gui¤as were more nocturnal (82% of photos) than the more common spotted cats (57%). Spotted gui¤as were more active on cloudy and moonless nights. Our study provides novel findings about the behavioural plasticity of gui¤a in different ambient conditions, and the relative advantage to each colour morph to persist in an increasingly human-dominated landscape.
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