Multiscale patterns of habitat and space use by the pacarana Dinomys branickii: factors limiting its distribution and abundance

Abstract

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 16:273-281 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00391 Multiscale patterns of habitat and space use by the pacarana Dinomys branickii: factors limiting its distribution and abundance Carlos A. Saavedra-Rodríguez1,2,*, Gustavo H. Kattan3,4, Karin Osbahr5, Juan Guillermo Hoyos4 1Wildlife Conservation Society Colombia Program, Carrera 25 No. 4-39, Cali, Colombia 2Grupo de Investigación en Ecología Animal, Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, A. A. 25360, Cali, Colombia 3Departamento de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Calle 18 No. 118-250, Cali, Colombia 4Fundación EcoAndina, Carrera 2 A Oeste No. 12-111, Cali, Colombia 5Unidad de Investigación en Fauna Silvestre, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Calle 222 No. 55-37, Bogotá, Colombia *Email: casaavedrar@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: The factors that influence habitat and space use by animals, and therefore their distribution and abundance, vary with spatial scale. The pacarana Dinomys branickii is a large rodent of the tropical Andes threatened by illegal hunting and habitat loss. We identified variables related to pacarana habitat use at 4 spatial scales in the Colombian Andes: landscape (3.14 km2 circles), forest patch, foraging area, and den. At the landscape scale, pacaranas used areas with 20 to 95% forest cover that were not different from randomly sampled sites. At the forest fragment scale, used patches (mean = 12 ha) were larger than unused patches, but independent of distance to continuous forest. At the foraging area scale, habitat use was related to the presence of rocky caves used as dens and was unrelated to forest structure. At the den scale, pacaranas used deep caves (>4 m) in sloping rocky outcrops with >40% exposed rock (in 100 m2 patches). Pacarana groups (4 to 5 individuals) had a mean home range of 2.45 ha around caves. We estimated a population density of 9.9 and 5.5 groups km−2 based on sign clusters (footprints, latrines, and foraging areas) and dens, respectively. Pacaranas fed on a variety of plant families found in primary and secondary forest and disturbed areas near streams. Our results indicate that pacaranas can survive in forest fragments, and the main factor limiting their distribution and abundance is the availability of adequate dens. Conservation of pacarana populations in rural landscapes may be helped by protecting a network of forest patches connected by riparian vegetation, but these populations would be vulnerable to illegal hunting. KEY WORDS: Den · Forest fragmentation · Habitat use · Home range · Population density Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Saavedra-Rodríguez CA, Kattan GH, Osbahr K, Hoyos JG (2012) Multiscale patterns of habitat and space use by the pacarana Dinomys branickii: factors limiting its distribution and abundance. Endang Species Res 16:273-281. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00391 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 16, No. 3. Online publication date: March 22, 2012 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.