Habitat relations of Rhea americana in an agroecosystem of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Herrera, Luis Alberto Petit; Comparatore, Viviana; Laterra, Pedro

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2003.10.030

Cited by 17 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Rheas spent significantly more time in pasture lands than in forested areas, a fact that was also observed by Bazzano et al (2002), Bellis et al (2004), Codenotti and Alvarez (2000), Giordano et al (2008) and Herrera et al (2004). Three factors may be responsible for the preference of greater rheas for pasture lands: (1) food availability, (2) good visibility and (3) its high productivity and protein/fibre content (Barnabé et al 2007;Pupo 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

“…Besides, the practice of weeding the understory allied with the low digestive and nutritive value of Eucalyptus leaves could deter foraging activities in the area (Aracruz 2008;Cork 1984;Foley et al 1999). In pasture lands, the presence of people is not so frequent due to the extensive cattle management techniques adopted and the possibility of greater rheas to locate humans at long distances (Bellis et al 2006;Demaria 1994;Herrera et al 2004) is facilitate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Greater rheas are threatened flightless birds of South America; populations of these species are vanishing locally in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (Codenotti and Alvarez 2000;Di Giacomo and Krapovickas 2005;Giordano et al 2008;Herrera et al 2004). In Brazil, these birds inhabits areas of cerrado vegetation (savannah-like vegetation;Davies 2002;Sick 1997), one of the most threatened and diverse biomes of Brazil (Machado et al 2004;Myers et al 2000;Skole et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Time–activity budget of greater rheas (Rhea americana, Aves) on a human-disturbed area: the role of habitat, time of the day, season and group size

et al. 2010

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The aim of this study was to evaluate activitytime budget, habitat use and how seasonality and group size influence the expression of greater rhea behaviours. Greater rheas are threatened South American birds; habitat loss, predation and hunting are the main factors responsible for population declines. The study was conducted in farmlands within a matrix of commercial Eucalyptus plantation and remnants of natural habitats of cerrado vegetation (savannah-like) in southeastern Brazil. Rhea groups were located visually in different habitats visited monthly from January 2004 to December 2005. Time spent searching greater rheas in each habitat was equally distributed. Data were collected using scan sampling with instantaneous recording of behaviours every minute. The time-activity budget of greater rheas was influenced by habitat structure, time of the day, season and group size. Rheas spent more time in open areas than in forested areas (p<0.001). Vigilance behaviours were more displayed in forested areas, in the dry season and by solitary and small groups of birds. Resting behaviours occurred more often in open lands and within groups with more than three rheas. Food availability, good visibility and low human presence are the possible factors for the preference of greater rheas for pasturelands. The results support the resource availability hypothesis, where it is expected that habitats with a higher food availability will be more used by the animals, group size hypothesis, where the scarcity of resources will lead to smaller groups of animals and that forestry modifies greater rheas habitat use and behaviours.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Time–activity budget of greater rheas (Rhea americana, Aves) on a human-disturbed area: the role of habitat, time of the day, season and group size

et al. 2010

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“…Faecal sampling is frequently used in other studies as a proxy of general habitat use (e.g. Herrera, Comparatore & Laterra, 2004;Shimano et al, 2006) and Loft & Kie (1988) found corresponding ranks of relative habitat use when comparing faecal sampling with radio triangulation. However, we cannot entirely exclude a bias in selection towards the habitat types used more frequently during night time resting or shortly after resting (due to higher defecation frequency at these times).…”

Section: Habitat Suitability -Avoiding Humans In Forested Refugesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating population size and habitat suitability for mountain nyala in areas with different protection status

Atickem

Loe

Langangen

et al. 2011

Animal Conservation

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Many species of large herbivores are declining in numbers as a consequence of direct exploitation or habitat loss. In the Ethiopian highlands, rapid human population growth has resulted in an expansion of human settlements and farmland, threatening many endemic species such as the mountain nyala Tragelaphus buxtoni. Despite being listed as an endangered species, the mountain nyala is still the most important trophy hunting species in Ethiopia. We counted faecal pellets of mountain nyala within plots distributed along transects to estimate population size and identify key environmental variables associated with the presence of faecal pellet groups. The total mountain nyala population was estimated at 3756 (95% confidence intervals: 2506-7135) individuals, mainly occupying woodlands while avoiding human developments (agriculture and settlements). The total suitable area was estimated at 8333 km 2 . Only 31.6% of the total population lived within a national park, while 53.5% of the population inhabited two controlled hunting areas in the eastern mountains. Abundance was 3.7 times higher in areas patrolled by wardens, regardless of being in a national park or hunting area, suggesting that formal protection must be followed by surveillance to avoid poaching and habitat destruction. We found no negative correlation between pellet abundance and trophy hunting. Yet, it is too early to conclude that trophy hunting is sustainable as it has only recently been initiated in the studied populations.

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“…Therefore, we decided to use the fecal count technique as an indirect method for estimating population density (Ojasti and Dallmeier 2000). This method has been used effectively in other studies on wild populations of rheas (Bazzano et al 2002;Herrera et al 2004;Kusch and Henríquez 2011). Six samplings were conducted between 2011 and 2012 (September and November 2011; March, April, July, and November 2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density and abundance of Rhea pennata garleppi (Struthioniformes: Rheidae) in the Puna ecoregion of Argentina

Marinero

Cortez

Navarro

et al. 2014

Rev. Chil. de Hist. Nat.

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Background: Rhea pennata is classified internationally as a near-threatened species, with the subspecies R. p. garleppi being listed as endangered. Finding: The aim of this study was to provide updated information on the density and abundance of R. p. garleppi in the southern Puna ecoregion of Argentina. Density was estimated indirectly on the basis of monthly feces counts during 2011 and 2012, using line-transect surveys. Monthly abundance was calculated by multiplying the density of each month by the area of the reserve (400 km 2 ). Population size range was calculated considering the average of the months with the highest abundance (and density) as the upper limit and the average of the months with the lowest abundance (and density) as the lower limit. The population size of this subspecies varied between 300 individuals (±60), with a density of 0.75 individuals/km 2 (±0.15) during the non-breeding season, and 188 individuals (±40), with a density of 0.47 individuals/km 2 (±0.10), during the reproductive season.

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Habitat relations of Rhea americana in an agroecosystem of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Cited by 17 publications

References 15 publications

Time–activity budget of greater rheas (Rhea americana, Aves) on a human-disturbed area: the role of habitat, time of the day, season and group size

Time–activity budget of greater rheas (Rhea americana, Aves) on a human-disturbed area: the role of habitat, time of the day, season and group size

Estimating population size and habitat suitability for mountain nyala in areas with different protection status

Density and abundance of Rhea pennata garleppi (Struthioniformes: Rheidae) in the Puna ecoregion of Argentina

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