Carlos Eduardo Borghi

National University of San Juan | UNSJ · Departamento de Biología

Nature‐based tourism in protected areas can benefit millions of people, generating significant economic income. However, tourism can also have negative impacts on the environment and wildlife. The emergence of the COVID‐19 pandemic led to the closure of cities and towns, bringing substantial disruption to various human activities and providing an o...

This study examines biases in scientific research on bird biodiversity in the provinces of San Juan and Mendoza located in drylands of central-western Argentina. We analyzed the amount, nature, and spatial distribution of research, identifying under- or over-represented topics and trends in sampling design. We found differences in research trends b...

The South American fauna has endured challenges such as illegal hunting, cattle expansion, climate change, and landscape fragmentation. Despite ongoing conservation efforts that aim to address these issues, genetic diversity remains overlooked. We genotyped 126 Lama guanicoe individuals from an area of 2 million km2 in Patagonia and Cuyo using the...

Subterranean rodents modify the surrounding environment being classified, in some cases, as keystone species and/or ecosystem engineers. This role could be context‐dependent if the changes produced shift throughout the species distribution range and are stronger under certain environmental conditions. Our objective was to analyse whether the effect...

Limited knowledge exists about rock outcrops in Argentina, especially in the Puna ecoregion. This study investigated small and medium-sized mammal diversity using caves and crevices in Desert Puna’s rocky areas. Three rock outcrop sites, >1 km apart at Don Carmelo Reserve, were equipped with five camera traps each. Monitoring spanned 34 days (dry s...

Subterranean rodents are often considered as ecosystem engineers because they physically modify the surrounding environment due to their burrowing and foraging activities. Understanding the modifications that ecosystem engineering species exert on the environment are of crucial importance in ecology studies, since they may affect the structure and...

Datos de abundancia de aves en transectas realizadas en la Puna, Reserva Don Carmelo, en áreas perturbadas y no perturbadas por Ctenomys mendocinus

The main driver of biodiversity loss and subsequent decreases in ecosystem functionality is undeniably human interference, destruction and encroachment. The creation and establishment of protected areas serve as tools for guaranteeing biodiversity conservation. In this study, we examined the diversity of medium- and large-sized mammals and flightle...

Human-wildlife interactions, poaching and illegal wildlife trade in particular, are among the major threats to biodiversity around the world, causing species and population extinctions, zoonotic diseases dissemination, and exotic species invasions, among others. Here we assessed the patterns of poaching and illegal wildlife trade in western Argenti...

This article focuses on identifying risk factors through the knowledge, perceptions, and prevention practices of the population regarding the rock pigeon and the vector of Chagas disease (vinchucas) in an urban area of Argentina. The study used interviews of focal groups, family nuclei with nearby nesting sites and without nearby nesting sites. Amo...

Un desierto puede parecer un vasto espacio vacío, pero hay mucha vida entre la arena y las rocas. Las plantas y animales pueden sobrevivir en este ambiente hostil, gracias a las adaptaciones que poseen para soportar el intenso calor durante el verano, el intenso frío en el invierno y la sequía. Las precipitaciones son escasas, la media anual de llu...

The mara is a large endemic rodent, which presents a marked decline in its populations, mainly because of habitat loss, hunting, and overgrazing. The Ischigualasto Provincial Park is a hyper-arid protected area at the Monte Desert of Argentina with an overall low plant cover. Our objective was to determine the influence of environmental variables a...

Registros recurrentes del poco conocido huroncito patagónico (Lyncodon patagonicus) en el departamento de Ullún, provincia de San Juan, República Argentina RESUMEN Se reportan dos nuevas localidades para Lyncodon patagonicus en San Juan, República Argentina, a partir de registros fotográficos en el noroeste del departamento de Ullún, entre los 1.80...

Plant emergence from seed banks and from asexual reproduction could be strongly influenced by environmental and biological factors. Among environmental factors, animal disturbances deserve special consideration. In this study we test the hypothesis that disturbances resulting from the burrowing activity of Ctenomys affect plant emergence (sexual an...

Leucism appears in various groups of vertebrates, although it is rare in mammals. For Argentina, we do not know of any documented registry for small rodents. The objective of our work is to report the first cases of leucism in cricetid rodents in the Puna Desert of Argentina. Field work was carried out in the Multiple Use Provincial Reserve Don Car...

The effects of roads on natural environments have been studied in many places around the world. The presence of roads can be considered for native animals as a disturbance stimulus. Besides, roads can facilitate arrival and entry of alien species, such as domestic and feral ungulates, which sometimes compete with native species. Due to this, we ass...

Highlights • Pesticide poisoning is currently the greatest threat to the Andean condor. • Poisonings affect adult condors more than immature ones. • The most commonly used poison is Carbofuran, and to a lesser extent Palation. • Condor poisonings have reached alarming levels that could lead to extinction.

Roads can affect animals as well as their habits at different levels. Avoidance behavior is a common response of animals to this type of perturbation, preventing access to areas rich in resources. The effects of roads on ungulates have not been studied in South America extensively, especially in arid environments. We have studied the space use by u...

En Sudamérica los desiertos ocupan una importante extensión, llegando a cubrir en Argentina el 69% de su superficie. Si bien los micromamíferos del desierto del Monte han sido objeto de numerosos estudios, no ha ocurrido lo mismo con los micromamíferos de los desiertos de altura. Por este motivo, los objetivos de este trabajo fueron analizar la abu...

Este estudio recopila los registros de especies endoparasitarias en guanacos (Lama guanicoe) de Argentina. Se hizo una revisión bibliográfica de los trabajos científicos publicados entre 1967 y 2017. Además, se incorporaron nuevos registros inéditos de localidades dentro de la provincia de San Juan. La fauna de endoparásitos estuvo representada por...

Selection occurs when animals choose from among alternative habitat resources they find available in the environment. As selection is a hierarchical process, it can be studied at multiple spatial scales. Subterranean rodents are a good model to study habitat selection because of their low dispersal ability and easily identifiable perturbed areas. U...

Attributes such as sex, age and pigmentation of individuals could correspond to the competitive skills they use to access resources and, consequently, determine their social status when a hierarchy of dominance is established. We analysed patterns of social dominance in relation to sex, age and, for the first time, according to face pigmentation in...

Interactions registered in the food groups of Andean condor feeding groups according to sex, age and pigmentation of individuals. (XLSX)

Las zonas áridas se caracterizan por poseer condiciones medioambientales particulares como escasa humedad, alta radiación solar y fluctuaciones térmicas pronunciadas. Estas condiciones imponen fuertes restricciones limitando la distribución de especies. En éstas áreas, los árboles son componentes importantes ya que generan microhábitats bajo su dos...

Keywords: coprological analysis-eggs-Endoparasites-faeces-Heterakis-Wild birds Knowledge about endoparasites in wild birds of the genus Rhea in Argentina is fragmentary and incomplete. The aim of this work was to determine-through analysis of the faeces-the presence of endoparasite eggs in Rhea tarapacensis Chubb, 1913 (Rheiformes: Rheidae) in a to...

Urban centers are dominated by species adapted to human presence. The intensity of human activity has a strong influence on habitat selection by animal populations across landscapes. The objectives of this study were to assess the abundance and the spatial distribution of the nests of two species of pigeons (Columba livia and Patagioenas maculosa),...

RESUMEN.-Rhea tarapacensis es una especie amenazada que está ecológicamente extinta en parte de su distribución. Es una de las especies más usadas en medicina tradicional en los alrededores de la Reserva de Biosfera San Guillermo (San Juan, Argentina), quedando aún por evaluar el reconocimiento por parte de los pobladores, los nombres comunes que r...

Human-wildlife conflicts currently represent one of the main conservation problems for wildlife species around the world. Vultures have serious conservation concerns, many of which are related to people's adverse perception about them due to the belief that they prey on livestock. Our aim was to assess local perception and the factors influencing p...

All data underlying the findings reported. (XLSX)

Animals may divert time and energy in similar ways in the presence of predators, humans or landscape infrastructures. Roads have facilitated the economic and social development of human populations. Nevertheless their presence and human use cause environmental changes, such as clearing, which increase perception of predation risk. Among the respons...

Rhea tarapacensis is a threatened species ecologically extinct in part of its distribution range. It is one of the species most used in traditional medicine in the vicinity of the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (San Juan, Argentina), and its recognition by residents, the common names it receives and other historical and current uses still remain t...

In arid and semiarid ecosystems, subterranean herbivorous rodents play an important role in determining the composition, function, and structure of plant communities. We hypothesized that in a high-altitude cold desert in the southern Puna region of Argentina, Ctenomys mendocinus (mendocino tuco-tuco), a subterranean herbivorous rodent, may increas...

El Parque Provincial Ischigualasto (PPI) es un área protegida ubicada al nordeste de la Provincia de San Juan, Argentina (30º 05’S - 67º 55’O). Tiene una superficie aproximada de 63.000 ha abarcando las ecoregiones del Monte de Sierras y Bolsones y del Chaco Seco. Sus características climáticas (altas temperaturas y bajas precipitaciones) y las con...

Rapid economic growth in several South American countries combined with high species diversity in tropical regions has raised great concern among ecologists on the future of wildlife in those areas. One of the consequences and drivers of economic growth is widespread infrastructure development. The economic and social development of most countries...

Background: Wild and domestic animals and their by-products are important ingredients in the preparation of curative, protective and preventive medicines. Despite the medicinal use of animals worldwide, this topic has received less attention than the use of medicinal plants. This study assessed the medicinal use of animals by mestizo communities l...

COURTSHIP AND COPULATION OF ANANDEANCONDOR(VULTUR GRYPHUS) PAIR IN A FEEDING AREA.— Courtship and copulation behaviour of the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) has been described mainly based on observations of captive individuals. This work contributes to the knowledge of this behaviour in the wild, providing the first record for Argentina of copulat...

Courtship and copulation behaviour of the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) has been described mainly based on observations of captive individuals. This work contributes to the knowledge of this behaviour in the wild, providing the first record for Argentina of copulation in a feeding area. © 2014 Association Ornitologica del Plata. All rights reserve...

A rocky habitat, in its broadest sense, may be described as any locality that contains boulders, rocks, scree, pebbles, outcrops, cliffs, or caves. In these habitats, mammals find shelter sites that they use as nesting sites or dens to raise their young in a stable microclimate that is relatively secure from predators. The aim of this study was to...

Mammals that live in arid and semi-arid environments in South America present physiological mechanisms that enable them to conserve water. Body water is lost through the kidneys, lungs, skin, and intestines. Regarding renal adaptation for water conservation, several indices have been used to estimate the capacity of the kidneys to produce a maximum...

In the framework of the National Law on Minimum Budgets for the Environmental Protection of Native Forests (2009), projects are being implemented in Argentina that point to native forest enrichment, restoration, conservation and sustainable use and management. The present project, entitled “Chica, retamo and algarrobo: umbrella species for conserva...

2009), se llevan a cabo en Argentina proyectos que apuntan al enriquecimiento, restauración, conservación, aprovechamiento y manejo sostenible de los bosques nativos. El presente trabajo se enmarca en el proyecto " La chica, el retamo y el algarrobo: especies paraguas para la conservación del Bosque Nativo del Parque Provincial Ischigualasto. Inter...

El Corredor Bioceánico Central, que conectará los puertos del Pacífi co (Coquimbo, Chile) y del Atlántico (Por-to Alegre, Brasil), en su paso por San Juan atraviesa el Parque Provincial Ischi-gualasto, un área protegida de 275.369 hectáreas declarada Patrimonio Natural de la Humanidad. Este Parque, con un ecosistema árido con importantes restos pal...

The present study aims at improving the characterization of the dietary status of four sigmodontine rodents (Graomys griseoflavus, Akodon molinae, Calomys musculinus and Eligmodontia typus) by quantifying the major food categories (leaves, stems, seeds, Prosopis flexuosa pods, and arthopods) with a modified microhistological technique. The use of t...

Hoarding food is an important strategy of rodents in desert environments characterized by unpredict- able and poor food resource availability. In the Monte Desert, Prosopis produces abundant food, unevenly in time and space, in the form of pods and seeds. Sigmodontine rodents (Graomys griseoflavus,Akodon molinae, Eligmodontia typus and Calomys musc...

Los resultados obtenidos muestran una importante población de cóndores (62 indivudiuos observados simultaneamente) en el Parque Natural Provincial Ischigualasto, ubicado en el centro-oeste de la Argentina, alejado de la Cordillera de los Andes. Así, Ischigualasto se convierte en una zona de suma importancia para la conservación de la especie, ya qu...

El objetivo de este estudio fue registrar la conductividad térmica del pelaje y el largo de los pelos de individuos de Microcavia australis que habitan una zona del Monte hiperárido de San Juan. Se colectaron 4 individuos en Julio-Agosto de 2012 en el PN El Leoncito para realizar mediciones del largo de pelos. Se tuvieron en cuenta las siguiente...

The Central Bioceanic Corridor is a road that will link ports on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. In Argentina, the road traverses the Ischigualasto Provincial Park, an arid ecosystem inhabited by endangered species. The Corridor will have effects owing to increased and new vehicle traffic along road sections within the Park and to higher use of th...

The distribution and ecology of the pink fairy armadillo Chlamyphorus truncatus, the world's smallest armadillo, are poorly understood due largely to the strictly subterranean habits of this species. We compiled records from the literature, museum and private collections, information from rural people, and researchers to update the species' current...

Naturalized herbivores can cause the extinction of native plant through their effect on plant reproduction, and can compete for the use of resources with native herbivores. In Ischigualasto Provincial Park, we assessed the effect of feral donkey's herbivory on columnar cacti Echinpsis terscheckii and the potential overlapping in the use of food res...

The small cavy Microcavia australis, a social and fossorial rodent, inhabits a large distribution range in South American arid zones. The species is versatile in coping with the seasonal and spatial variability typical of these environments through changes in morphology, physiology, and behavior. In order to explore whether phenotypic variations ar...

The fate of Prosopis flexuosa seeds dispersed by cattle is dependant on the spatial pattern of dung deposition and foraging movements. We hypothesised that cattle-use site classes explain the response variables related to seed input and fate of seeds, seedlings and saplings (small plants more than one year old). We defined sites with heavy cattle t...

Analyzing coexistence of exotic and native ungulates in arid areas is important from both a theoretical and a species conservation perspective. We assess the habitat use patterns and possible interference between guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and feral livestock (donkey and cattle) in arid environments of South America. To determine habitat use and niche...

Foraging strategies have traditionally been modelled as a result of food selection in response to one factor, as for instance resource availability, deterrent compounds or nutrients. Thus, a trade-off is assumed between plasticity (generalist strategy) and efficiency (specialist strategy). Nevertheless, several studies have demonstrated that animal...

It has been shown that seasonal changes, especially in arid areas have a large influence on gonadal changes of the species that inhabit these areas. We studied a wild hystricomorph Microcavia australis in its natural habitat in the arid Andes Mountains. Sampling of adult males was carried out every 2 months. After autopsy, testes and epididymides w...

The first density estimates of a peripheral guanaco population and its habitat use at different spatial scales are presented for a protected area of Monte desert, Argentina. Transects were surveyed in the wet and dry seasons of 2005. All guanaco herds observed during systematic surveys using roads and tracks were GPS located and their habitat use w...

aim of this study is to describe the environment within the Monte where we located the species. This study was conduce in the Monte Desert of San Juan (Argentina) in four sites: -Matagusanos: mesquite woods (Prosopis flexuosa) and slimy clay soil;- El Leoncito: creosote bush scrub (Larrea nitida) and sandy silt soil; -La Cienaga: mesquite bush (P....

Plant assemblages' dynamics have been studied to evaluate the influence of different environmental factors. The aim of our work was to assess the effect of a disturbance in the form of livestock grazing on annual plants, in a South American desert. We tested the exclusion of cattle grazing by comparing the composition of annual plants in three majo...

Plant assemblages’ dynamics have been studied to evaluate the influence of different environmental factors. The aim of our work was to assess the effect of a disturbance in the form of livestock grazing on annual plants, in a South American desert. We tested the exclusion of cattle grazing by comparing the composition of annual plants in three majo...

We examined the removal of Prosopis flexuosa pods by small rodents, and addressed four specific questions: (1) do Monte Desert small rodents remove mesquite pods? (2) if they do, do they store them above-ground? (3) how far are pods carried? and (4) what condition are removed pods and seeds in? We carried out the experiments in March 2000 and June...

Ecological physiology examines how animals cope with changing environmental demands. In low-productivity desert habitats, small mammals should consume low-quality, high-fiber food as a consequence of necessity rather than by choice. Diet quality of populations can differ at both spatial and temporal scales. Nevertheless, spatial and temporal variat...

We studied the differences between areas undisturbed and disturbed by Ctenomys in the structure, diversity, and composition of a Puna desert plant community. We also studied differences in nutrient distribution in the soil produced by the activity of tuco-tucos. Within the plant community, plant and soil samples were taken from different sites, and...

En San Guillermo se ha confirmado la presencia de 18 mamíferos autóctonos y 3 mamíferos exóticos. Entre los mamíferos autóctonos se ha confirmado que la especie de Ctenomys tradicionalmente asignada al Parque Nacional San Guillermo: Ctenomys fulvus, no se encuentra distribuida en el área de San Guillermo, siendo la especie de Ctenomys relacionada c...

Se analizaron varios aspectos de la avifauna de San Guillermo, relacionados con presencia, abundancia y situación de conservación. Listas previas de las especies presentes en el área fueron utilizadas para la planificación del trabajo de campo. El muestreo fue estratificado en función de la heterogeneidad ambiental. Se muestrearon los hábitats más...

First estimations on guanaco population and habitat selection are presented for an area of Monte desert. In the wet and dry seasos 2005 transects were carried out throughout the Ischigualasto Provincial Park (San Juan Argentina). In parallel during systematic survey through the area all guanaco obse rvations were GPS located and the habitat occupie...

Locally, mammalian herbivores may have significant effects on the abundance and fitness of plant species. This study focuses on the interaction between cuises (Microcavia australis -Rodentia-) and creosote bush (Larrea cuneifolia -Zygophyllacea-), which is a widespread and ecologically dominant evergreen shrub in the Monte Desert of Argentina. Spec...

Structural variations result in a marked heterogeneity of processes in and environments. Disturbances have noticeable impacts on ecosystems, and a solid way of assessing their effect is to analyze how ecological processes operate. In deserts, granivory has been considered as a keystone process. The objective of our study was to determine the effect...

The present study aims at improving the characterization of the dietary status of four sigmodontine rodents (Graomys griseoflavus, Akodon molinae, Calomys musculinus and Eligmodontia typus) by quantifying the major food categories (leaves, stems, seeds, Prosopis flexuosa pods, and arthopods) with a modified microhistological technique. The use of t...