IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Bolgeri, M.J. | |
| Characterisation of migratory movements in Guanacos (_Lama Guanicoe_) and patterns of predation by pumas (_Puma concolor)_ in la Payunia, Mendoza | |
| 2016 Full Book | |
Migration, exhibited by a wide range of taxa, is an ecological process that involves seasonal movements back and forth between discrete areas (Berger, 2004). This thesis presents an analysis of seasonal migratory movements of a guanaco (_Lama guanicoe_) population and the consequences that these movements may have for predation by pumas (_Puma concolor_) on guanacos and livestock, mainly goats. The study was carried out in the La Payunia Provincial Reserve, Malargue Department, Mendoza. Migration by large ungulates generates temporal fluctuations in their exposure to predators, and affects patterns of consumption of different prey by these predators (Fryxell & Sinclair 1988). Apparent competition is an interspecific interaction in which one species has a negative effect on another species of the same trophic level, mediated by a third species, generally of a different trophic level (Holt, 1977). Migration by ungulates may generate apparent competition between migratory and resident prey species in a specific time and place, if both are consumed by a generalist predator. There are few studies of interactions where the principal prey is partially migratory and modifies the seasonal availability of food for predators that temporarily switch to alternative, domestic prey (Patterson et al., 2004; Kolowski & Holekamp, 2006). In addition, when a wild predator becomes a recurring threat to livestock, it is persecuted by humans (Inskip & Zimmermann, 2009). In Payunia, predation by pumas on livestock is generating an increasing conflict that threatens both the conservation of carnivores as well as livestock production. The objective of Chapter II of this thesis was to determine the temporal and seasonal changes in guanaco density resulting from migratory movements that influence puma predation on guanacos and livestock in the reserve and its surroundings. From autumn 2006 to spring 2010 I evaluated temporal changes (between the cold and warm seasons) in guanaco and livestock density in three sites in the study area (northwest, northeast, and southeast). I recorded guanacos killed by predation in each site and season, and also the number of livestock preyed on by puma. |
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