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Social group dynamics and composition of managed wild vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna vicugna) in Jujuy, Argentina

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Abstract

The vicuña is a high Andean wild camelid that lives year-long in groups. We analyzed the social organization of 98 marked vicuñas after capture and live shearing, focusing on group composition, spatial patterns, territoriality and habitat use. The social units analyzed were families, bachelor groups and solo animals. Location fixes of 54 males and 36 females were registered over a 2-year period, and home range was estimated. All females belonged to family groups, and 8–12 month yearlings changed their home ranges prior to first reproduction at 2 years. Female yearlings dispersed to a new family group, while male yearlings dispersed to a bachelor group. Solitary males appeared during the interval between leaving bachelor or family groups, and vice versa. Our study showed that vicuña polygyny was based on female grazing area requirements. Females that stayed with the same males were defined as loyal, and had a mean 18.9 ha home range. Females that changed both to a different family and male; and grazed over the same home range size, were considered disloyal. Family groups selected the habitat that had a low stratum and the highest coverage of palatable plants, while bachelors used their habitat randomly.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the VICAM team: J. Baldo, V. Rojo, H. Yacobaccio, J. Atan, for field logistics and assistance, as well as D. Baldo, R. Miatello, H. Lamas and F. Cassini and the community of Cieneguillas, Province of Jujuy, for their field assistance and hospitality. We also thank Kevin Lane and Cecilia Baillo who helped us improve the English version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Agency for Research PICT 0479-2013: “Vicuñas en Jujuy: Un abordaje interdisciplinario”. Drs. Y. Arzamendia, A. Carbajo and B. Vila are full-time researchers of the National Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. VICAM-INECOA CONICET UNJU, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, UNJU, Av. San Pedro y San Pablo 692, 4616, San Pablo, Yala, Jujuy, Argentina

    Yanina Arzamendia

  2. Ecología de Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vectores, Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Aníbal E. Carbajo

  3. VICAM-CONICET, Dpto. Ciencias Sociales, UNLu, Luján, Argentina

    Bibiana Vilá

Authors
  1. Yanina Arzamendia
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  2. Aníbal E. Carbajo
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  3. Bibiana Vilá
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yanina Arzamendia.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research involving humans

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Research involving Animals

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed in this study involving animals, such as the capture and handling of vicuñas, were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted, and were approved by the Provincial Directorate of Environment and Natural Resources of Jujuy, Argentina (DPMAyRN permits Nº 038-03, 130-04, and 203-05). Our procedures also complied with the guidelines set by the American Society of Mammalogists (Gannon and Sikes 2007), the animal welfare protocols of GECS (South American Camelid Specialist Group), and the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

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Arzamendia, Y., Carbajo, A.E. & Vilá, B. Social group dynamics and composition of managed wild vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna vicugna) in Jujuy, Argentina. J Ethol 36, 125–134 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-018-0542-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-018-0542-3

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