Food preferences of guanaco (Lama guanicoe cacsilensis) and its competence with cattle in the Calipuy National Reserve, Peru

Abstract

El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar el grado de competencia alimentaria entre el guanaco y el ganado doméstico en la Reserva Nacional de Calipuy. La cobertura vegetal (CV) se determinó con un censo de vegetación y la composición de las dietas mediante la técnica microhistológica de las heces (50 guanacos, 35 vacunos y 25 equinos). La sobreposición dietaria se determinó mediante el Índice de Horn (I), las preferencias alimentarias mediante el índice de Ivlev (E), y la diversidad de la dieta con índice de Shannon-Weaver (D). Se encontró una baja-moderada competencia alimentaria entre el guanaco y el ganado bovino y equino. La sobreposición dietaria fue mayor durante la época lluviosa (I =0. 80 y 0.88) en que la oferta de forraje fue alta (CV= 63%); y menor durante la época seca (I=0.58 y 0.64) en que hubo escasez de alimento (CV=50%). El guanaco fue un consumidor selectivo intermedio. La diversidad dietaria de los adultos aumentó durante la época seca (D = 0.62; p<0.01) incluyendo hasta un 70% de hierbas y arbustos, mostrando una alta flexibilidad alimentaria entre estaciones (I=0.64) y hábitats (I=0.75, p<0.01), lo que le permitió minimizar la competencia con el ganado bovino y equino, que consumió principalmente gramíneas en ambas estaciones (>60%) y no mostró la misma flexibilidad (I=0.90, p<0.01). Los juveniles y los chulengos fueron más sensibles a las variaciones estacionales, consumiendo un menor porcentaje de arbustos pero tuvieron una preferencia marcada por las hierbas bajas.

Guanacos’ winter diet in ecotone of “Tierra del Fuego” (Argentina)

“…21,34,35,37 The effect of the presence of the on the guanaco density and habitat use and selection have not been studied quantitatively in the grassland-forest mosaic of Tierra del Fuego. 38 The trophic overlap degree between the guanaco and cow, regarding consumed species and intake frequency, is similar to the results found in the studies previously carried out by Puig et al, 39 Fernández Pepi et al, 17,21 and Linares et al 40 Since guanacos migrate seasonally between forests and meadows, 41 as a combined effect of habitat requirements and overlap with domestic animals. The results presented complement the knowledge of guanaco feeding behavior in the presence of domestic livestock, thus being able to respond to the producers of the area and be able to propose sustainable management on these plant communities, as they are stated in previous works, such as those of Martínez Pasteur et al, 41 and Flores et al…”

Summer Diet of Horses (Equus ferus caballus Linn.), Guanacos (Lama guanicoe Müller), and European Brown Hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) in the High Andean Range of the Coquimbo Region, Chile

“…However, Linares et al [63] point out that the dietary overlap between guanacos and horses would be moderate to low, but tending to be greater during the time of abundance of forage, which coincides with what was determined by Puig et al [35] regarding the dietary overlap between guanacos and cattle. The lowest similarity in the diets between European brown hares and domestic ungulates (sheep and cattle) is also reported by Johnson [9], who points out similarity values of 35% and 45%, when it comes to cattle and sheep, respectively.…”

Food selection by the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) along an altitudinal gradient in the Southern Andean Precordillera (Argentina)

“…The guanaco's diet showed a considerable diversity, including all available plant categories and a high proportion of the species present in the vegetation of the Southern Andean Precordillera. This generalism was also observed in guanaco populations of other ecoregions (Linares et al 2010;Baldi et al 2004;Puig et al 1996Puig et al , 2011. The dietary generalism of the guanaco appears as an adaptive mixture of diverse foraging strategies of its ancestors and constitutes an important advantage to survive in the diverse arid habitats that are part of its extensive range of distribution (Franklin and Puig 2014).…”