Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape

The marsh deer (<i>Blastocerus dichotomus</i>) is the largest deer native to South America, occurring in wetlands and marshy habitats. The southernmost population of the species is found in the Parana River Delta, Argentina, in a wetland system highly modified by intensive forestry activ...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Marin, Violeta Cecilia, Fernández, Vanina Alejandra, Dacar, María Ana, Gutiérrez, Diego Germán, Fergnani, Darío Martín, Pereira, Javier A.
Formato: Articulo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2020
Materias:
Ciencias Agrarias
Ciencias Naturales
Blastocerus dichotomus
Exotic species
Forestry plantations
Human–wildlife conflict
Wetland
Acceso en línea:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/130322
Aporte de:
SEDICI (UNLP) de Universidad Nacional de La Plata
id I19-R120-10915-130322
record_format dspace
institution Universidad Nacional de La Plata
institution_str I-19
repository_str R-120
collection SEDICI (UNLP)
language Inglés
topic Ciencias Agrarias
Ciencias Naturales
Blastocerus dichotomus
Exotic species
Forestry plantations
Human–wildlife conflict
Wetland
spellingShingle Ciencias Agrarias
Ciencias Naturales
Blastocerus dichotomus
Exotic species
Forestry plantations
Human–wildlife conflict
Wetland
Marin, Violeta Cecilia
Fernández, Vanina Alejandra
Dacar, María Ana
Gutiérrez, Diego Germán
Fergnani, Darío Martín
Pereira, Javier A.
Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
topic_facet Ciencias Agrarias
Ciencias Naturales
Blastocerus dichotomus
Exotic species
Forestry plantations
Human–wildlife conflict
Wetland
description The marsh deer (<i>Blastocerus dichotomus</i>) is the largest deer native to South America, occurring in wetlands and marshy habitats. The southernmost population of the species is found in the Parana River Delta, Argentina, in a wetland system highly modified by intensive forestry activity. Foresters perceive high levels of economic losses attributed to deer herbivory which drives marsh deer poaching. We carried out the first study of the dietary composition of the marsh deer in this wetland by using microhistological analysis of feces collected seasonally. Seventy-three food items were identified in the marsh deer diet, but only eight had frequencies of > 3% in the annual diet. Macrophytes dominated the diet throughout the year (seasonal percent frequencies 31–42%) due to the high occurrence of <i>Ludwigia bonariensis</i> (24% of average seasonal frequency). Trees, vines, forbs, and shrubs contributed less frequently to the diet, while grasses and grass-like plants were marginally represented (i.e., < 2%). Exotic plant species comprised 38% of the annual diet, and tree species of commercial importance (<i>Salix</i> sp. and <i>Populus</i> R22) were poorly represented (≤ 5.5% per season). The marsh deer in this wetland could be categorized as a browser, differing from the feeding behavior reported for the species in the Brazilian Pantanal (grazer–browser) and suggesting a trophic elasticity in this cervid. Since commercial tree species comprised a very small portion of the diet of this deer, a change in producers’ perception toward the species is needed to diminish this conflict, and our data are important to develop context-specific conservation and management solutions.
format Articulo
Articulo
author Marin, Violeta Cecilia
Fernández, Vanina Alejandra
Dacar, María Ana
Gutiérrez, Diego Germán
Fergnani, Darío Martín
Pereira, Javier A.
author_facet Marin, Violeta Cecilia
Fernández, Vanina Alejandra
Dacar, María Ana
Gutiérrez, Diego Germán
Fergnani, Darío Martín
Pereira, Javier A.
author_sort Marin, Violeta Cecilia
title Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
title_short Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
title_full Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
title_fullStr Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
title_full_unstemmed Diet of the marsh deer in the Paraná River Delta, Argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
title_sort diet of the marsh deer in the paraná river delta, argentina—a vulnerable species in an intensive forestry landscape
publishDate 2020
url http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/130322
work_keys_str_mv AT marinvioletacecilia dietofthemarshdeerintheparanariverdeltaargentinaavulnerablespeciesinanintensiveforestrylandscape
AT fernandezvaninaalejandra dietofthemarshdeerintheparanariverdeltaargentinaavulnerablespeciesinanintensiveforestrylandscape
AT dacarmariaana dietofthemarshdeerintheparanariverdeltaargentinaavulnerablespeciesinanintensiveforestrylandscape
AT gutierrezdiegogerman dietofthemarshdeerintheparanariverdeltaargentinaavulnerablespeciesinanintensiveforestrylandscape
AT fergnanidariomartin dietofthemarshdeerintheparanariverdeltaargentinaavulnerablespeciesinanintensiveforestrylandscape
AT pereirajaviera dietofthemarshdeerintheparanariverdeltaargentinaavulnerablespeciesinanintensiveforestrylandscape
bdutipo_str Repositorios
_version_ 1764820453279399936

Ejemplares similares