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Patterns of macro and microhabitat use of two rodent species in relation to agricultural practices

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Habitat selection may reflect the location of the home ranges or the allocation of shelter and foraging sites within a given habitat. We studied seasonal patterns of habitat use by Akodon azarae and Calomys laucha at two spatial scales: between maize fields and their weedy edges (macrohabitats), and associations of rodents captures with vegetation variables at the trap site level (microhabitats). We evaluated if the different habitat uses were related to disturbances generated by practices associated to maize cycle. A. azarae used mainly field edges, but it showed an increased use of maize fields when the crop reached maturity in summer. Contrarily, C. laucha used maize fields in a higher proportion than edges in all seasons. C. laucha was more influenced by microhabitat characteristics than A. azarae. C. laucha was present in sites with abundant dicot weeds when maize was growing up, while it was associated to sites with weeds with scarce cover in stubble maize fields. Before harvesting, both species were segregated at the microscale within maize fields. A. azarae was related to sites with high availability of green plant cover and C. laucha occupied low-quality sites, probably attributed to differences in their diets. We conclude that the pattern of habitat use by both species is best predicted at the macrohabitat scale, and when they are impoverished and present internal heterogeneity, there is selection at microhabitat scale of those better sites. While A. azarae responds to changes in vegetation cover and habitat structure associated to agricultural practices, C. laucha uses cropfields in an opportunistic way, affected by interspecific competition.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the farm owners who allowed us to conduct the fieldwork on their farms. We also thank P. De Carli, A. Sartori, and Antonio “Chimango” for field assistance. We are very grateful to Dr. G. Cueto for helpful comments on an earlier version of this work, and for the figures. Two anonymous reviewers provided constructive criticism to improve this version of the manuscript. This work was funded by CONICET (Argentina) and the University of Buenos Aires Grants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Karina Hodara

  2. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Av. Cantilo s/n Ciudad Universitaria. Pabellón 2, 4to Piso, Lab. 63, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Busch

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  1. Karina Hodara
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  2. María Busch
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Correspondence to Karina Hodara.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 1.

Table 1 List of vegetation variables recorded in each season and the habitat type where each plant species is dominant
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Hodara, K., Busch, M. Patterns of macro and microhabitat use of two rodent species in relation to agricultural practices. Ecol Res 25, 113–121 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-009-0638-x

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