Home range and habitat use by pacas in a montane tropical forest in Bolivia

Abstract

We studied the home range and habitat use of paca (Cuniculus paca) in a rural agricultural community in the Alto Beni region, in La Paz department, Bolivia, where game meat is the main source of protein for a large portion of local inhabitants. We captured and radio collared five individual paca (4 females and 1 male), which were followed for six months in 2012 to estimate home range of the individuals and assess their habitat use and selection. The total mean home range (95% Minimum Convex Polygon) was 2.26 ha (SD = 0.80), and ranged from 1.5 to 2.96 ha. The mean female home range (2.04 ha) was smaller than the male´s (2.95 ha). Pacas used two (crops and fallows) of the three available habitats (secondary forest patches), and appeared to positively select crops over the other two. The importance of crops may be linked to the type of agriculture conducted in the area (i.e. mainly cacao in agroforestry systems), which may offer more food and shelter for pacas. Given that, the importance of habitats may change seasonally; this topic should be examined in future studies. Our results suggest that agroforestry systems may be important for the species since they offer a variety of food resources throughout the year. KEYWORDS: space use, radiotelemetry, Alto Beni, cacao, agroforestry Ámbito de hogar y uso de hábitat del jochi pintado en un bosque montano tropical de Bolivia RESUMENHemos estudiado el ámbito de hogar y uso de hábitat del jochi pintado (Cuniculus paca) en una comunidad de Alto Beni en el Norte de La Paz-Bolivia, donde la carne obtenida por cacería es, como en muchas regiones de la Amazonia, una fuente principal de proteína para muchas poblaciones indígenas y campesinas. Hemos capturado y seguido con radio-collar a cinco individuos (4 hembras y 1 macho) por seis meses en 2012. El ámbito de hogar promedio de los individuos fue de 2,26 ha (ds=0,80), usando el estimador Mínimo Polígono Convexo (MPC al 95%) y los valores se encuentran entre 1,5 a 2,96 ha. El ámbito de hogar promedio de las hembras fue más pequeño (2,04 ha) que del macho (2,95 ha). Los jochis estudiados usaron 2 (cultivos y barbechos) de los 3 hábitats disponibles (parches de bosque secundario), aunque los cultivos parecen ser seleccionados positivamente respecto a los otros dos. La importancia de los cultivos podría estar ligada al tipo de cultivo que se realiza en la zona (sistemas agroforestales), que podrían estar ofreciendo mejores condiciones para ser usados por los jochis. Adicionalmente, la importancia de los hábitats podría cambiar de acuerdo a la época del año, lo cual podría ser abordado en siguientes estudios. Este trabajo es el primero en dar detalles sobre la ecología de C. paca en vida silvestre en Bolivia; sin embargo sería necesario contar con más individuos para tener más detalle sobre la ecología espacial de esta especie. PALABRAS CLAVE: uso de hábitat, radiotelemetría, Alto Beni, cacao, agroforestería

Natural Habitat, Housing, and Restraint of Six Selected Neotropical Animals in Trinidad and Tobago with the Potential for Domestication

“…Male pacas were found to have larger home range sizes than females [30,31]. In central Belize, the male's home range size was about 2.3 times greater than the female's.…”

“…During the wet season they avoided flooded forest areas and there was an affinity for dense understory and good canopy cover [30]. Areas with crops were positively selected, whereas secondary forests and fallows were negatively selected [31].…”

“…Males had a somewhat larger home range size of 2.95 ha as compared to the females' mean home range size of 2.04 ha. Only one core area was determined and ranged from 0.31 to 0.54 ha [31]. Kernel analysis to determine the home ranges (95%) and core centers (50%) of pacas was used in Costa Rica.…”

“…When dens were discovered, all exit holes were covered except for one and was smoked out. A plastic bag was placed over the one open hole to capture the paca, which was quickly transferred, by hand, to a Havahart ® type cage measuring 100 × 40 × 40 cm [31]. Utilization of trained hunting dogs was successfully used to locate pacas and capture twelve out of the sixteen seen.…”

“…A number of different chemical combinations were utilized for restraint or anaesthesia: ketamine hydrochloride (dose rate of 48.9 mg/kg) and acepromazine maleate (dose rate of 0.6 mg/kg) [30]; xylazine and ketamine at 10% intramuscularly [31]; and 10% ketamine hydrochloride intramuscularly [32]. One diazepam tablet (10 g) was given orally per paca and also midazolam maleate tablets (7.5 mg) were used, which were found to work better than the diazepam tablets [38].…”