Uso de hábitat por tatus em área de floresta de restinga do sul do Brasil

Abstract

Armadillos ( Cingulata : Dasypodidae ), despite the diversity of species , 21 species , and wide distribution , from Argentina to the southern half of the United States through Central America, information on the use of animals in these environments is scarce. The excavation and using holes in the ground is an important ecological nature of the group, these structures may be considered conspicuous indicators of the presence of these animals. In the present study I have investigated the density, direction, morphometric and microhabitat of the burrows in different types of plant formation. The study was conducted during 13 months (Oct/06 to Nov/07) in Itapuã State Park, in Porto Alegre , RS , Brazil . The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) seems to be the most abundant species at this site, which is still at least one other species, the greater naked-tailed armadillo (Cabassous tatouay). The physical and environmental characteristics of 72 holes, fields (n = 31), forest (n = 22) and Restinga (n = 19), found were analyzed. The density of burrows did not vary significantly between these environments. Although the nine-banded is touted as a kind of wooded areas in the present study, the open areas were used with the same intensity that forest and dunes. Among the environmental variables the number of trees and percentage of ground cover shrubs influenced the number of burrows found in the woods. The direction of the burrows were predominantly southern areas of forest (forest and Restinga) and significantly different from field areas (fieldXforest p = 0.002; fieldXrestinga p = 0.001). Suggesting that this species can change behavior and increase the niche or relaxation in the absence of predators and competitors.