Diet Selection by the Fossorial Rodent Ctenomys mendocinus Inhabiting an Environment with Low Food Availability (Mendoza, Argentina)

Effect of Herbivory and Disturbances by Tuco-Tucos (Ctenomys Mendocinus) on a Plant Community in the Southern Puna Desert

“…Albanese et al (2010) reported that leaves are the most representative item among plant parts (89.51%) in the mendocino tucotuco's diet in the lowland Monte desert. In our study population, the mendocino tuco-tuco consumes sagebrush when almost no other plants are available (Rosi et al, 2003;Lara et al, 2007), and when herbivory occurs on sagebrush, the tuco-tuco feeds on only the vegetative fraction (Comparatore et al, 1995). Additionally, defoliation may have differential effects on plant reproduction depending on when it occurs.…”

An Inexpensive, Accurate Method for Measuring Leaf Area and Defoliation Through Digital Image Analysis

“…Albanese et al (2010) reported that leaves are the most representative item among plant parts (89.51%) in the mendocino tucotuco's diet in the lowland Monte desert. In our study population, the mendocino tuco-tuco consumes sagebrush when almost no other plants are available (Rosi et al, 2003;Lara et al, 2007), and when herbivory occurs on sagebrush, the tuco-tuco feeds on only the vegetative fraction (Comparatore et al, 1995). Additionally, defoliation may have differential effects on plant reproduction depending on when it occurs.…”

Diet of a fossorial rodent (Octodontidae), above-ground food availability, and changes related to cattle grazing in the Central Monte (Argentina)

“…Populations of tuco-tucos present a discontinuous pattern of distribution across plains and plateaus of the Monte in Mendoza, and share most habitats with livestock. Grasses are an important dietary component for both cattle and tucotucos inhabiting either arid (Rosi et al, 2003) or wet environments (Comparatore et al, 1995;Del Valle et al, 2001). Dietary generalism characterizes the foraging behaviour of ctenomyids and other subterranean rodents (Busch et al, 2000), and has been ascribed to the high burrowing costs of food search as a way to optimize the energy intake predicted by the optimal foraging theory (Krebs, 1978).…”