Browsing by Author "Iriarte, Agustin"

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    COMPOSITION, DIVERSITY AND SIZE OF DIATOMS CONSUMED BY THE ANDEAN FLAMINGO (PHOENICOPARRUS ANDINUS) IN SALAR DE PUNTA NEGRA, ANTOFAGASTA REGION, NORTHERN CHILE
    (2012) Tobar, Claudio; Rau, Jaime R.; Iriarte, Agustin; Villalobos, Rodrigo; Lagos, Nicolas; Cursach, Jaime; Diaz, Carolina; Fuentes, Norka; Gantz, Alberto
    In April 2009, at the Salar de Punta Negra (24 degrees 35'S, 68 degrees 58'W) in the Antofagasta Region of northern Chile, we quantified the composition, diversity, and size of diatoms, the only consumed prey by both adults and nestlings of Andean Flamingos (Phoenicoparrus andinus). We identified a total of 39 species, 34 in the faeces of nestlings and 25 in adult faeces. The most abundant species in both was Surirella se//a and Denticula thermal/s. The most frequent diatoms observed in the nestlings' faeces were S. se/la, D. thermalis, Pinnularia sp. and Haloroundia speciosa, whereas in the adult faeces they were Denticula thermalis, Surirella se//a, Pinnularia sp. and Haloroundia speciosa. There was no statistically significant difference in diatoms consumed by adults and nestlings. The dietary similarity between adults and nestlings was 0.644. The nestlings consumed a greater diversity of diatoms than adults. The most consumed diatom by adults (S. sea) was sized between 58 and 140 mu m, with a greater frequency for organisms between 70 and 100 mu m. The size of the diatoms consumed by nestlings was between 40 and 120 mu m with a greater frequency of organisms between 60 and 90 pm. Comparing the sizes of the consumed diatoms, we found that adults preferred individuals of greater size than nestlings. Accepted 18 June 2012.
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    Diet of the puma (Puma concolor) in the alpine highlands of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, Peru
    (2022) Luque-Machaca, Hector A.; Oberheim, Brian E.; Llerena-Reategui, Gabriel; Rodriguez-Bravo, Omar; Loza-Del Carpio, Alfredo; Pacheco, Joel, I; Iriarte, Agustin; Zuniga, Alfredo H.
    The puma (Puma concolor) is widely distributed in the alpine highlands of the Andes, but its diet has rarely been described in ecosystems above 4300 m. We collected and examined 21 puma scats from the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve (RNSAB) between 2013 and 2015. We identified 10 species of prey, in addition to unidentified birds and small rodents. Small and medium animals were the most frequent prey, although wild camelids contributed the greatest proportion of biomass. We also recorded the presence of mesopredators and domestic dogs in puma scats. Our results suggest that the puma could play a key role in the configuration of trophic networks in the RNSAB, and that this can contribute considerably to the ecosystem balance.
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    Species delimitation and intraspecific diversification in recently diverged South American foxes
    (2024) Pizarro, Eduardo J.; Julio-Kalajzic, Bernardita; Sallaberry-Pincheira, Nicole; Munoz, Valentina; Gonzalez-Acuna, Daniel; Cabello, Javier; Acosta-Jamett, Gerardo; Bonacic, Cristian; Iriarte, Agustin; Rodriguez, Alejandro; Travaini, Alejandro; Cevidanes, Aitor; Brito, Jose Luis; Millan, Javier; Marin, Juan Carlos; Vianna, Juliana A.
    The divergence between the Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus) and the South American gray fox (L. griseus) represents a recent speciation event in South America. These taxa are partially sympatric and share biological, morphological, and ecological traits. Previous studies failed to recover reciprocal monophyly, suggesting the occurrence of introgression or incomplete lineage sorting (ILS). Here, we obtained mitochondrial and nuclear markers for 140 L. culpaeus and 134 L. griseus from the Southern Cone of South America to assess their inter and intraspecific divergence. We recovered reciprocal monophyly of L. culpaeus and L. griseus, with mild signatures of introgression or ILS. Therefore, taxonomic misidentification and the use of a limited number of markers may be the main reason behind the past debate about the delimitation of both species. Two main divergent clades were found in L. culpaeus with a phylogeographical boundary in the High Plateau of northeastern Chile. The southern clade along with three northern sub-clades corresponded to four morphological subspecies. Less genetic differentiation was found in L. griseus with a spatial population structure that does not support the occurrence of distinct subspecies. The results found in this study suggest the extant evolutionary significant units that need to be considered for biological conservation management of these species.