Ecological differences between two sympatric species of armadillos (Xenarthra,Mammalia) in a temperate region of Argentina |
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Authors: | Agustín M Abba Marcelo H Cassini |
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Institution: | (1) Centro de Investigaciones en Reproducción, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Paraguay 2155 piso 10a, C1121ABG, Buenos Aires, Argentina;(2) Laboratorio de Histología y Embriología. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Morón, Machado 914, C1708, Morón, Argentina |
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Abstract: | Morpho-physiological specialization related to foraging can act as constraints on behaviour and ecological patterns of abundance
and distribution. We tested this prediction in two species (weeping or screaming hairy armadillos Chaetophractus vellerosus Gray, 1865 and mulitas Dasypus hybridus Desmarest, 1804) that represent the two subfamilies of armadillos (Dasypodidae, Xenarthra): Euphractinae and Dasypodinae.
The first subfamily possesses a well-developed masticatory apparatus that is considered primitive within the Xenarthra, while
Dasypodinae show reductions in various aspects of cranial morphology. We sampled signs (burrows and foraging holes) and captured
both species on 34 farms randomly selected in the north-eastern Pampas region of Argentina. We analyzed several niche dimensions.
The two species showed significant differences in habitat use, seasonal patterns and diet. Weeping armadillos were generalists
in their diet and active throughout the year. They were associated with calcareous-sand soil, as expected for a burrowing
animal of the deserts. They tolerated a wide range of environmental conditions. We found that mulitas are myrmecophagous,
and that they demonstrated a reduction in body temperature and activity during the cold season. As expected from their geographical
distribution, mulitas used mainly vegetation with high cover and were associated with humic soils. Niche segregation between
the two species of armadillos appeared to originate from different degrees of dietary specialization. |
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