Pellet-count sampling based on spatial distribution: a case study of the European hare in Patagonia
Abstract
Estimates of density arad habitat use based on fecal-pellet counts have been done in the past assuming a random distribution. We present data on European hares (Lepus capensis) in northwest Patagonia showing that the distribution pattern of their pellets fats ara aggregated, negative binomial model. We also estimated minimum sample sizes arad variances based on this model. Minimum sample sizes were larger and variances were smaller than those based on a random distribution model. We provide recommendations to improve the pellet-count and similar sampling methods when the spatial distribution of the individuals can be determined through a pilot study.
References
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Arnold, J.F., and H.G. Reynolds. 1943. Droppings of arizona and antelope jackrabbits and the “pellet census”. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 7:322-327.
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Cochran, W.G. 1981. Técnicas de muestreo. Compañía Editorial Continental S.A., México, 513 pp.
Daniel, W.W. 1978. Applied nonparametric statistics. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 503 pp.
Dietrich, U. 1984. The status of the European brown hare (Lepes europaeus Pallas 1778) in southern Chile. Sonderdruck aus Bd. 30, H.4, S, 256-259.
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Edge, C.D. and C.L. Marcum. 1989. Determining elk distribution with pellet-group and telemetry techniques. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 53:621-624.
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Sokal, R.R., and F.J. Rohlf. 1981. Biometry: The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. Second Ed. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, 859 pp.
Taylor, R.H., and R.M. Williams. 1956. The use of pellet counts for estimating the density of populations of the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.). New Zealand Journal of Science and Technol. 38:236-256.
Wolfe, M.L., N.V. Debyle, C.S. Winchell, and T.R. McCaben. 1982. Snowshoe hare cover relationships in northern Utah. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 46:662-670.
Amaya, J. and M.G. Alsina. 1982. Densidad poblacional de la febre europea en áreas de mallín cerca de San Carlos de Bariloche. Dirección de Fauna, Chubut, Argentina, 2 pp.
Amaya, J. and N.A. Bonino. 1980. El conejo europeo (Oryctolagus cunieulus) en Tierra de¡ Fuego. IDIA, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina, marzo-abril:14-33.
Amaya, J., N. Bonino, R. Clarke, and M. Díaz. 1984. Situación de la liebre europea (Lepes europaeus) en la provincia de Santa Cruz. Secretaría de Agricultura y Ganadería, Consejo Agrario Provincial, Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz., Argentina, 29 pp.
Arnold, J.F., and H.G. Reynolds. 1943. Droppings of arizona and antelope jackrabbits and the “pellet census”. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 7:322-327.
Cajal, J.L. 1986. El recurso fauna en Argentina. Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 39 pp.
Cochran, W.G. 1981. Técnicas de muestreo. Compañía Editorial Continental S.A., México, 513 pp.
Daniel, W.W. 1978. Applied nonparametric statistics. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 503 pp.
Dietrich, U. 1984. The status of the European brown hare (Lepes europaeus Pallas 1778) in southern Chile. Sonderdruck aus Bd. 30, H.4, S, 256-259.
Dietrich, U. 1985. Population ecology of the European field hare (Lepes europaeus) naturalized in Argentina. Sonderdruck aus Bd. 31, H.2, S, 92-102.
Edge, C.D. and C.L. Marcum. 1989. Determining elk distribution with pellet-group and telemetry techniques. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 53:621-624.
Flux, J. 1967. Hare numbers and diet in the Alpine Basin in New Zealand. Proc. New Zealand Ecological Society 14:27-33.
Gerard, G. and P. Berthet. 1971. Sampling strategy in censuring patchy populations. Pp. 59-67 in Statistical ecology, Vol. 1, Spatial patterns and statistical distributions (G.P. Patil, E.C. Pielou, and W.E. Waters, eds.). Pennsylvania State University Press, Pennsylvania, 582 pp.
Grigera, D.E. and E.H. Rapoport. 1983. Status and distribution of the european hare in South America. J. Mamm. 64:163-166.
Humphrey, S.R. 1988. Density estimates of the endangered Key Largo woodrat and cotton mouse (Neotoma floridana smalli and Peromyscus gossypinus allapticola), using the nested-grid approach. J. Mamm. 69:524-531.
Kufner, M.B. 1983. Impact of wild herbivores on the “algarrobal” of Mendoza Province and their competition with livestock. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 98 pp (in Spanish).
Kufner, M. 1986. Body size, activity, relative density, and habitat preference of small- and medium-sized mammals of Doñana, as determinants of their predation rate. Unpubl. Ph.D. dissert., Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain, 249 pp.
Lefebvre, L. W., D. L. Otis, and N.R. Holler. 1982. Comparison of open and closed models for cotton rat population estimates. 1. Wildl. Mgmt. 46:156-163.
Litvaitis, J.A., 1. A. Sherburne, and 1.A. Bissonette. 1985. A comparison of methods used to examine snowshoe hare habitat use. J. Wild]. Mgmt. 49:693-695.
Ludwig, J.A. and J.F. Reynolds. 1988. Statistical ecology. A primer on methods and computing. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 337 pp.
McClanahan, T.R. 1986. Quick population survey method using faecal droppings and a steady state assumption. African Journal of Ecology 24:37-39.
Movia, C.P., G.H. Ower, and C.F. Pérez. 1982. Vegetación natural de la provincia del Neuquén. Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda, Provincia de¡ Neuquén, Neuquén, Argentina, 115 pp.
Novaro, A.J. 1991. Feeding ecology and abundance of a harvested population of culpeo fox (Dusicyon culpaeus) in Patagonia. M.S. Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, 103 pp.
Rabinovich, J. E. 1980. Introducción a la ecología de poblaciones animales. CECSA, México, 250 pp.
Scher, G.A.F. 1973. The estimation of animal abundance and related parameters. C. Griffin & Co., London, 506 pp. Smith, G. W., and N. C. Nydegger. 1985. A spotlight, line-transect method for surveying jack rabbits. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 49:699-702.
Sokal, R.R., and F.J. Rohlf. 1981. Biometry: The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. Second Ed. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, 859 pp.
Taylor, R.H., and R.M. Williams. 1956. The use of pellet counts for estimating the density of populations of the wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.). New Zealand Journal of Science and Technol. 38:236-256.
Wolfe, M.L., N.V. Debyle, C.S. Winchell, and T.R. McCaben. 1982. Snowshoe hare cover relationships in northern Utah. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 46:662-670.
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Published
1992-06-01
How to Cite
Novaro, A. J., Capurro, A. F., Travaini, A., Funes, M. C., & Rabinovich, J. E. (1992). Pellet-count sampling based on spatial distribution: a case study of the European hare in Patagonia. Ecología Austral, 2(1), 011–018. Retrieved from https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1733
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