A comparison of two methods for acquiring ecological data on armadillos from Argentinean Pampas: field work vs interviews

The objective of this work is to compare information collected on the ecology of three species of Pampean armadillos (Chaetophractus villosus, C. vellerosus and Dasypus hybridus), obtained through interviews with the information obtained previously in a typical ecological field study. The study area...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Abba, Agustín Manuel, Cassini, Marcelo Hernán
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:Argentina
Institución:Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Repositorio:SEDICI (UNLP)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/101212
Acceso en línea:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/101212
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Zoología
Armadillos
Conservation
Interviews
Pampa
Chaetophractus vellerosus
Chaetophractus villosus
Dasypus hybridus
Descripción
Sumario:The objective of this work is to compare information collected on the ecology of three species of Pampean armadillos (Chaetophractus villosus, C. vellerosus and Dasypus hybridus), obtained through interviews with the information obtained previously in a typical ecological field study. The study area encompasses ~1000km2 of the northeastern part of the Pampas grasslands of Argentina. Thirty four farms evenly distributed throughout the study area were randomly selected and either the farmer or an employee was interviewed on the presence of armadillos. Traditional ecological data were collected in two ways: searching for indirect signs of armadillos and capturing and marking live individuals. The majority of the results were coincident between both methods. It is concluded that interviews can contribute to ecological research in the Pampas grassland by helping to design field surveys in the initial phase of a study. Interviews can be an important tool in decision making regarding land use and management, because they are a low cost method in terms of time and budget, and do provide reliable results.