Open AccessActivity patterns of medium and large mammals in two savanna ecosystems in the Colombian Llanos
Author(s) -
Dennis Castillo-Figueroa,
Daniela Martínez-Medina,
Miguel E. Rodríguez-Posada
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista de la academia colombiana de ciencias exactas, físicas y naturales/revista de la academia colombiana de ciencias exactas, físicas y naturales
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.124
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2382-4980
pISSN - 0370-3908
DOI - 10.18257/raccefyn.1461
Subject(s) - ecology , ecosystem , nocturnal , geography , keystone species , biology
Neotropical savannas have undergone continuous processes of landscape transformation (e.g., agriculture, oil, gas, and hydrocarbon industry) and very little is known about the ecology and natural history of key biological groups such as terrestrial mammals while the information on behavioral aspects of mammalian species in these ecosystems is very scarce. Here, we aimed to describe the activity patterns of medium and large mammals in two savanna ecosystems in the Colombian Llanos. A set of 60 camera traps was installed in the two ecosystems for 35 days (2100 camera days). We described the activity patterns of nine predominantly nocturnal species. We found no difference in circadian distributions of mammals between ecosystems. Cuniculus paca Linnaeus 1758 and Dasyprocta fuliginosa Wagler 1832 showed patterns of exclusion probably due to competition whereas other species like Tamandua tetradactyla Linnaeus1758 and Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus 1758 displayed similar activity patterns. We highlight the importance of savannas for the conservation of these species and discuss the relevance of studies on activity patterns for mammal ecology and conservation in Neotropical savannas.