Ma. Fernanda Cuevas

Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Aridas (IADIZA) CCT CONICET Mendoza · Red Ecología de Mamíferos de Tierras Secas

The European rabbit plays a major role in seed dispersal in its native environment. We evaluated its ecological interactions with plants through the dispersal of seeds by endozoochory in two invaded arid ecotones of Argentina. We found 855 whole seeds in 1283 fecal pellets, belonging to one non-native (Sesuvium portulacastrum) and five native plant...

The European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is an exotic herbivorous mammal undergoing an active phase of geographical expansion in the arid ecosystems of Argentina. The Adaptive Flexibility Hypothesis states that populations at the range edge (new populations) will exhibit greater flexibility in the use of resources compared with populations located...

Hunting is an ancestral human practice to obtain food. However, in recent times, it has become a highly lucrative economic activity and is a potential conservation tool to control populations of introduced invasive species. Ironically, though, hunting is also one of the most important drivers of mammal introductions around the world. Between the 19...

Rodents are an important component of South America fauna. Their high diversity has motivated researchers to continually review their taxonomy, genetic diversity, species limits, and phylogenetic relationships. We apply DNA‐barcodes for assessing the taxonomic and genetic diversity in the two major lineages of South American rodents: caviomorphs an...

The coexistence of ecologically similar species is facilitated by differential use of resources along habitat, diet, and/or temporal niche axes. We used feces of non-native rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), hare (Lepus europaeus), goat (Capra hircus), and the native plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus) to compare the utilization of spatial and trophi...

While the role of environmental filters, usually described by elevation as proxy, and anthropogenic disturbance as drivers of non-native plant diversity and abundance in mountains have been extensively studied, the impact of herbivores are less explored. Livestock grazing can facilitate the introduction of non-native species by seed dispersal and r...

The coexistence of ecologically similar species is facilitated by differential use of niche axes (i.e. habitat, diet, and temporal gradients). Like in many other arid regions, mammal assemblages in arid Argentina are composed by native and nonnative medium-sized herbivores such as European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and the native plains viscac...

About 2.6% of extant terrestrial mammals are “successful invaders.” These include the artiodactyls (pigs, camels, deer, cattle, sheep, goats, and antelope), carnivores (canids, bears, mustelids, and cats), lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), and perissodactyls (equines). In particular, the large ungulates (artiodactyls and perissodactyls) represent the...

The European wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, is simultaneously a threatened species within its native range and yet, a successful colonizer worldwide (Lees and Bell 2008). The European rabbit is native to the Iberian Peninsula, south of France and north of Africa. In the Iberian Peninsula, its populations have undergone a massive decline during...

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is considered an ecosystem engineer. It roots up the ground looking for forage, generating patches of different sizes and without vegetation. Studies of wild boar's impact on vegetation can be addressed in two contrasting ways: short-term effects (immediately after boar's disturbance) and long-term effects. Short-term stu...

Herbivore and plant invasions can modify the structure and functioning of ecosystems through positive interactions that facilitate their mutual establishment. An important consequence of the feeding behaviour of rabbits is that they can play a key role in seed dispersal by endozoochory. We examined the diet and potential for dispersing Rosa rubigin...

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is considered an ecosystem engineer. It roots up the ground looking for forage, generating patches of different sizes and without vegetation. Studies of wild boar’s impact on vegetation can be addressed in two contrasting ways: short-term effects (immediately after boar’s disturbance) and long-term effects. Short-term stu...

Las principales amenazas para los felinos se encuentran relacionadas con actividades humanas (ej. la caza y la ganadería), las cuales están restringidas o reguladas en las áreas protegidas. Inmersa en una matriz ganadera, la Reserva de Biósfera Ñacuñán (RBÑ, Mendoza), con exclusión de animales domésticos por más de 50 años, podría tener un papel cl...

El pastoreo modifica la estructura y composición de la vegetación, por lo que comprender cómo la fauna percibe dichos cambios es importante para el manejo de las especies. La Reserva de Biósfera Ñacuñan (RBÑ) está inmersa en una matriz ganadera siendo la única área protegida del Monte con exclusión de esta actividad por más de 50 años. Los felinos...

El conejo europeo es un mamífero exótico invasor en fase activa de dispersión geográfica en la provincia de Mendoza. Es un herbívoro generalista con gran plasticidad para seleccionar el alimento, ajustándose a la disponibilidad de recursos de acuerdo al hábitat y la estación del año. Las zonas áridas se caracterizan por la baja productividad en el...

La pérdida de hábitat y la caza como respuesta a la depredación de ganado son las principales causas de reducción en poblaciones de grandes felinos. La Reserva de Biósfera Ñacuñan (RBÑ) está habitada por 15 familias y se halla inmersa en una matriz ganadera. Llevamos a cabo el primer muestreo con cámaras trampa complementado con entrevistas a pobla...

El conejo europeo es una de las 100 especies exóticas invasoras más dañinas del mundo y se encuentra en fase activa de expansión geográfica en Mendoza. En los ambientes introducidos, el conejo se adapta de manera eficaz y rápida mostrando un gran éxito en la colonización. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la utilización del hábitat a distinta...

Variation in life-history traits is shaped by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Climate influences the availability of energy and nutrients in the environment, and thus animals’ energy balance, their allocation of resources to reproduction and ultimately, fitness. Temperature is reported as a prevailing influence on animals’ investment in reproducti...

El conejo europeo es un mamífero exótico invasor introducido en Argentina en 1880 con fines alimenticios. En la mayoría de los ambientes donde se introduce se adapta de manera eficaz y rápida mostrando un gran éxito en la colonización. En el sur de Mendoza, se encuentra en fase activa de dispersión o expansión geográfica. El conejo es un herbívoro...

Habitat partitioning is considered one of the main mechanisms of coexistence among small mammals. This is especially evident in arid environments where resources are particularly scarce. Habitat characteristics such as vegetation heterogeneity and complexity are expected to increase species coexistence, increasing the number of microhabitats that c...

Wild boar is an invasive species introduced to Argentina for sport hunting purposes. Here, this species is present in at least 8 phytogeographic provinces but we only have information in four of them (Pampean grassland, Espinal, Subantarctic and Monte Desert). We review the ecological strategies and impact of wild boar on ecosystem processes in the...

El conejo europeo, un mamífero exótico invasor, se encuentra en activa fase de dispersión geográfica en las provincias de Neuquén y Mendoza. Enfocado desde su ecología trófica es un herbívoro generalista con gran plasticidad para seleccionar el alimento, adaptándose a la disponibilidad de recursos según el ambiente y la estación del año. Además, es...

Knowledge of feeding habits not only contributes information related to the resources that individuals need to survive and breed, but also leads to insights about the interactions between a species and its environment. The optimal foraging theory explains diet selection by several attributes of the trophic scenario such as availability, diversity,...

Wild boar is an invasive species introduced to Argentina for sport hunting purposes. Here, this species is present in at least 8 phytogeographic provinces but we only have information in four of them (Pampean grassland, Espinal, Subantarctic and Monte Desert). We review the ecological strategies and impact of wild boar on ecosystem processes in the...

The wild boar is an invasive ecosystem engineer in Argentina that has lacked sufficient basic information to determine applied actions. The current distribution, impacts and management of this species were analyzed using the expert opinion surveys of protected area managers. The boar is widely distrib-uted and occupies most of Argentina's terrestri...

The wild boar is an invasive mammal in Argentina that generates habitat alteration, predation, and competition that threaten several native species due to its flexible and broad diet and its rooting behavior. We evaluated the diet of wild boar in El Palmar National Park (EPNP), assessing its composition, seasonality, and importance of baiting. Vege...

A large number of protected areas worldwide have been impacted by biological invasions, threatening the biodiversity they aim to protect. The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is one of the most threatening invasive species in Argentina, already occupying many ecoregions, including the central Monte Desert. However, there are no studies regarding the use that...

The wild boar, Sus scrofa, was first introduced for hunting purposes in Argentina in 1906 and presently occupies a wide range of habitats. Understanding the food habits of invasive species is important for predicting the effects of animal food consumption on the environment and on human activities, such as farming. The wild boar is an omnivorous, o...

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is an exotic agent of disturbance that arrived in the Ñacuñán Reserve of Argentina in the 1980s. When foraging, the wild boar overturns extensive areas of soil leaving them bare of vegetation. Knowledge is scarce about the boar's impact on vegetation composition and soil properties in the Monte Desert, Argentina. The obje...

The introduction of exotic species can cause important changes in the structure and function of natural ecosystems. This note reports the introduction of the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, into Villavicencio Natural Reserve in Mendoza, Argentina. Individuals were introduced from a breeding facility within the reserve. This study assessed t...

The wild boar, Sus scrofa, was introduced in the central region of Argentina in the early 20th century. A small feral population invaded the western area of the Man and Biosphere Reserve of Ñacuñán, Argentina in the early 1980’s. The purpose of our study was to provide information about the diet of wild boars in the semiarid region of Argentina and...

Several attributes were suggested for the success of invasive species. The table lists some of these traits as applied to the invader mammals of Argentina (Novillo and Ojeda, 2008). These traits are not only intrinsic to the species (i.e. reproductive rate, body mass, abundance, size of native range, and so on) but also to the habitat they invade (...