Spatial ecology of the Vicuña (Lama vicugna) in a high Andean protected area

Abstract

The study of animal space use is fundamental to effective conservation and management of wildlife populations and habitats in a rapidly changing world, yet many species remain poorly described. Such is the case for the spatial ecology of the Vicuña–a medium-sized wild camelid that plays a critical role, both as a consumer and as prey, in the high Andean food web. We studied patterns of space use of 24 adult female vicuñas from April 2014 to February 2017 at the southern edge of its range. Vicuñas showed strong fidelity to their home range locations across the study period and shared large portions of their home ranges with vicuñas from other family groups. Vicuña home ranges in our study were considerably larger than previous estimates across the range of the species. Variation in environmental and terrain factors and the associated risk of predation affected vicuña diel migration distance but not home range size or overlap. Our study offers new ecological insights into vicuña space use that can inform conservation and management efforts of vicuñas and other social ungulates.

"Observational vs. GPS Data: The Case of Spatial and Social Ecology of the Andean Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna)"

“…Regarding conspecific tolerance [8] -"In contrast with previous studies, we found considerable evidence for tolerance of conspecifics from different families, especially while foraging [5,9]most vicuña seasonal core ranges in San Guillermo National Park overlapped with seasonal core ranges of other individuals, with very few exclusive core ranges. This was corroborated by visual observations recorded opportunistically (anecdotally) during the study period that revealed as many as five collared vicuñas from distinct family groups feeding in close proximity to each other on multiple occasions."…”

“…Regarding site fidelity [8]-"Vicuñas demonstrated high site fidelity, in line with previous studies that observed year-round maintenance of territories by vicuña families [5,9,10]. While this is a possibility, the differences in home range size could also result from methodological differences, since estimates from previous studies were based on a visual estimation of movements in the landscape rather than using quantitative home range estimation methods based on systematic data collection over sustained periods of time, as is possible with GPS collar data."…”

Food limitation reduces risk avoidance by prey, but does not increase kill rates in a simple predator–prey system

“…Pumas are ambush predators that hunt using cover provided by vegetation, uneven terrain, and rocks (Bank & Franklin, 1998). In SGNP, vicuñas occupy the same areas year‐round and graze in groups typically composed of a single male, three females (range 1–6), and two calves (range 1–4) (Karandikar et al, 2023).…”

Gold Mining and Genotoxic Effects on Vicuñas: A Comparative Study of Buccal Cells and Lymphocytes

“…Within these family groups, the male delimits and defends his territory with his harem against other males, while also herding the females when they move away from their territory (Vilá 1995(Vilá , 1999(Vilá , 2000; ARCMV-ANMIN Apolobamba 2022). While several studies have suggested that family groups occupy an area of ~18 ha, recent research indicates that this area may be much larger (~53 ha) (Vilá 1995(Vilá , 1999(Vilá , 2000; ARCMV-ANMIN Apolobamba 2022; Karandikar et al 2023).…”