Mb. Kufner, TEMPORAL ACTIVITY OF THE MARA (DOLICHOTIS -PATAGONUM) IN THE MONTE DESERT, ARGENTINA, Studies on neotropical fauna and environment, 30(1), 1995, pp. 37-43
The mara is a caviid rodent, endemic and resident in the arid region o
f central and south Argentina. Little is known about its ecology in th
e wild, but its diurnal and superterrestrial way of life rises interes
t concerning its temporal activity rhythms related to environmental va
riables, as well as behavioural strategies for the species' adaptation
to semi-desert environments. Surveys over two or three consecutive da
ys were made from March 1982 to March 1983 and from October 1986 to Ju
ly 1988, recording the number of active animals and environmental vari
ables. It was demonstrated that the annual activity of D. paragonum wa
s positively influenced by light, precipitation and temperature and ne
gatively by darkness and relative humidity. These variables probably i
nfluence the long-term endogenous rhythms of the species. The daily ac
tivity was unimodal in winter and bimodal in the other seasons, and it
was related especially with temperature. A favourable thermal environ
ment was detected near 20 degrees C. Daily activity of mara reduced du
ring winter and summer with alternate periods of activity and rest, pr
obably related to the species energetic balance. These strategies are
important for the successful adaptation of the mara to Monte environme
nt.