Abstract
Axis deer (Axis axis), an introduced invasive species of growing concern around the globe, have rapidly expanded through the southern cone countries in South America. Despite increasing culling efforts over 14 years, axis deer remained abundant at El Palmar National Park in north-eastern Argentina. We tested whether this continued abundance possibly reflected control failures as a result of adjacent plantation forests providing a safe-haven refuge for deer. We carried out a cross-sectional survey of deer faecal pellet groups and tracks in 77 matched pairs of 25 m2 plots deployed at random over the park–plantation interface and assessed the presence of deer trails along the 14.2-km wire fence between both land-use types. The relative odds of having at least one pellet group (occupancy) were 4.5 (95% CI 1.5 to 18.3) times higher among park plots than plantation plots. Using generalized linear mixed models, the relative odds of occupancy decreased significantly with increasing distance to the main permanent water course, but it was 83% lower in plantation plots than in the park plots. Principal component analysis of shrub cover, plant structure and plant height revealed greater shelter within the park. Deer trails were spatially aggregated up to 2300 m and were directly associated with deer occupancy. These results indicate that, in El Palmar National Park interface, plantation forests do not provide a refuge or selected habitat, and suggest instead that the environmental characteristics and diversity of habitats within the protected area are relevant for the effectiveness of the exotic ungulate management program.
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The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the staff of El Palmar National Park for receiving us with open arms and willingness to help. Special thanks go to C. Li Puma, A. Maranta, and park rangers R. Achilli, J. Ballay, G. Bilhe, M. Cravea, A. Delaloye, F. Guerrero, E. Munich, C. Sosa, A. Vidal and J. Zemarthen; and to park volunteers A. Astorga, M. Bermudez, M. Bongianino, M. Guillier and I. Robadin. We also thank Paul Forestal, Estancia La Calera and Establecimiento Las Palmeras which allowed us to conduct fieldwork in their premises. A final thank you to Architect E. Iglesias, who helped in formatting the figures present in this work.
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This work was supported by the University of Buenos Aires: UBANEX 506/17 and UBACYT 20020170100779BA grants to REG.
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Study conception and design were done by Mercedes Burgueño, Lucía I. Rodríguez-Planes and Ricardo E. Gürtler. Material preparation and data collection were performed by Mercedes Burgueño, Gabriela Nicosia, Andrés de Miguel and Sebastián Szpilbarg. Data analysis was performed by Mercedes Burgueño, Lucía I. Rodríguez-Planes and Ricardo E. Gürtler. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mercedes Burgueño, Lucía I. Rodríguez-Planes and Ricardo E. Gürtler, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Burgueño, M., Rodríguez-Planes, L.I., Nicosia, G. et al. Does the interface with plantation forests provide suitable habitat for axis deer (Axis axis) to avoid systematic hunting pressure in a protected area of north-eastern Argentina?. Eur J Wildl Res 68, 6 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01529-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01529-8