Abstract
Spatially explicit modelling allows to estimate population abundance and predict species’ distribution in relation to environmental factors. Abiotic factors are the main determinants of a herbivore´s response to environmental heterogeneity on large spatiotemporal scales. We assessed the influence of elevation, geographic location and distance to the coast on the seasonal abundance and distribution of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) in central Tierra del Fuego, by means of spatially explicit modelling. The estimated abundance was 23,690 individuals for the non-breeding season and 33,928 individuals for the breeding season. The factors influencing distribution and abundance revealed to be the elevation for the non-breeding season, and the distance to the coast and geographic location for the breeding season. The southwest of the study area presented seasonal abundance variation and the southeast and northeast presented high abundance during both seasons. The elevation would be the driving factor of guanaco distribution, as individuals move to lower areas during the non-breeding season and ascend to high areas during the breeding season. Our results confirm that part of the guanaco population performs seasonal migratory movements and that the main valleys present important wintering habitats for guanacos as well as up-hill zones during summer. This type of study would help to avoid problems of scale mismatch and achieve better results in management actions and is an example of how to assess important seasonal habitats from evaluations of abundance and distribution patterns.
Highlights
The understanding of habitat requirements and population abundance is part of the knowledge necessary to tackle biological conservation targets [1, 2]
A total of 6,282 guanacos were recorded from 3,783 georeferenced photographs (3,190 individuals in the non-breeding season and 3,092 individuals in the breeding season) (Table 1)
The guanaco densities we report are of the same order of magnitude as previous estimates for the Argentinian portion of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego
Summary
The understanding of habitat requirements and population abundance is part of the knowledge necessary to tackle biological conservation targets [1, 2] This information is generally considered in the design of protected areas [1], monitoring of population trends [3] and development of management practices [1, 2, 4]. For species living in seasonal environments and moving according to the availability of resources, recognizing the habitat combination used to accomplish their biological cycle is important [1, 5]. Distribution and abundance of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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