Theme 1: Grassland Ecology
Description
The objective of the present study was to determine the composition of the vicuña (V. vicugna mensalis) diet at the end of the drought period (November, 2019) in the San Cristobal de Lucanas Community, in the department of Ayacucho, Peru. Eight sites were chosen, where vicuñas were observed grazing in Pajonal (tussock grassland), Cesped (short grassland), Pajonal-Cesped and Tholar-grass. For the botanical composition of the diet, fecal samples were collected in 80 dung piles, which were prepared for microhistological analysis and determined the plants consumed in the vicuña’s diet. The botanical composition of the diets in the different vegetation types was compared using the Wilcoxon Rank Sums test. Diet diversity was determined using the Shannon-Wiener index (H ́). The results showed that the main component of the vicuña's diet were grasses (63%-77%), while forbs, graminoid and shrubby plants represented a variable proportion of the types of vegetation. Diet diversity of the vicuña was moderate (H ́= 2.30 - 2.44). It is concluded that the diet of the vicuña is dominated by grasses, while the other functional groups were an important complement.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Vicuñas’ (Vicugna Vicugna mensalis) Diet Composition Under Community Management In the Puna Grasslands
The objective of the present study was to determine the composition of the vicuña (V. vicugna mensalis) diet at the end of the drought period (November, 2019) in the San Cristobal de Lucanas Community, in the department of Ayacucho, Peru. Eight sites were chosen, where vicuñas were observed grazing in Pajonal (tussock grassland), Cesped (short grassland), Pajonal-Cesped and Tholar-grass. For the botanical composition of the diet, fecal samples were collected in 80 dung piles, which were prepared for microhistological analysis and determined the plants consumed in the vicuña’s diet. The botanical composition of the diets in the different vegetation types was compared using the Wilcoxon Rank Sums test. Diet diversity was determined using the Shannon-Wiener index (H ́). The results showed that the main component of the vicuña's diet were grasses (63%-77%), while forbs, graminoid and shrubby plants represented a variable proportion of the types of vegetation. Diet diversity of the vicuña was moderate (H ́= 2.30 - 2.44). It is concluded that the diet of the vicuña is dominated by grasses, while the other functional groups were an important complement.
