Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T03:31:07.399Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Different responses of free-ranging wild guanacos (Lama guanicoe) to shearing operations: implications for better management practices in wildlife exploitation

Part of: AWF Wild Animal Welfare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

P Taraborelli ,
ME Mosca Torres ,
PF Gregorio ,
P Moreno ,
V Rago ,
A Panebianco ,
NM Schroeder ,
R Ovejero  and
P Carmanchahi
P Taraborelli*
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigaciones de la Biodiversidad (GIB), Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Áridas, CCT-CONICET, Av Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Martín, Mendoza ciudad CC 507, CP 5500, Argentina Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre (GIEFAS), AUSMA - INIBIOMA - CONICET - UNCo, San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
ME Mosca Torres
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigaciones de la Biodiversidad (GIB), Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Áridas, CCT-CONICET, Av Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Martín, Mendoza ciudad CC 507, CP 5500, Argentina
PF Gregorio
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre (GIEFAS), AUSMA - INIBIOMA - CONICET - UNCo, San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
P Moreno
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigaciones de la Biodiversidad (GIB), Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de Zonas Áridas, CCT-CONICET, Av Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Martín, Mendoza ciudad CC 507, CP 5500, Argentina Lab de Ecología de Enfermedades, ICIVET, CONICET-UNL, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina
V Rago
Affiliation:
Wildlife Health and Health Policy Program, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Buenos Aires, Argentina
A Panebianco
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre (GIEFAS), AUSMA - INIBIOMA - CONICET - UNCo, San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
NM Schroeder
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre (GIEFAS), AUSMA - INIBIOMA - CONICET - UNCo, San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina Lab de Interacciones Ecológicas, IADIZA, CCT-Mendoza, CONICET, Argentina
R Ovejero
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre (GIEFAS), AUSMA - INIBIOMA - CONICET - UNCo, San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina Lab de Interacciones Ecológicas, IADIZA, CCT-Mendoza, CONICET, Argentina
P Carmanchahi
Affiliation:
Grupo de Investigación en Ecofisiología de Fauna Silvestre (GIEFAS), AUSMA - INIBIOMA - CONICET - UNCo, San Martín de los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]/[email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In certain areas of South America, free-ranging, wild guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are exploited for fibre by local people. This activity includes the capture and handling of animals which can adversely affect their behaviour and physiology. This study investigated the behavioural and physiological responses of guanacos to shearing and handling activities in order to obtain a better picture of the welfare state of individuals. Parameters that were assessed consisted of: time enclosed; handling time; sex; age; and vital signs (heart beat frequency per minute, respiratory rate per minute, body temperature and body condition). Blood samples were also collected to measure serum cortisol levels and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios. Frequencies of spitting, kicking, escape attempts and vocalisations were recorded as behaviours considered indicative of stress. Our results showed that stress behaviour frequencies were higher with increased handling time, whereas serum cortisol and N/L levels were higher when body condition scores were low. Handling time should be kept as short as possible to minimise individuals’ stress levels, particularly when body condition is low. Stress behaviour rates and serum cortisol levels were higher in juvenile compared to adult guanacos. Finally, both physiological measures of stress — serum cortisol concentrations and N/L ratios — were higher during the management activities of 2010 than in 2009, which may have been as a result of more inclement weather in 2010. When managing guanacos, it is important to consider both animal traits and previous environmental conditions and to avoid shearing juveniles and individuals with poor body condition scores if weather conditions are severe. These management recommendations are likely to improve animal welfare, facilitating sustainable management of this wild and emblematic species from the desert biomes of South America.

Keywords

animal welfarehandlingLama guanicoeneutrophil/lymphocyte ratiosserum cortisol levelstress behaviours
Type
Articles
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 49
Copyright
© 2017 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Akaike, H 1974 A new look at statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control 19: 716–722. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAC.1974.1100705CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arias, N and Velapatiño, B 2015 Cortisol como indicador fiab-le del estrés en alpacas y llamas. Revista de Investigaciones Veterinarias del Perú 26: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.15381/rivep.v26i1.10915. [Title translation: Cortisol as reliable indicator of stress in alpacas and llamas]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arlettaz, R, Patthey, P, Baltic, M, Leu, T, Schaub, M, Palme, R and Jenni-Eiermann, S 2007 Spreading free-riding snow sports represent a novel serious threat for wildlife. Proceedings of the Royal Society B274: 1219-1224. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.0434CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arzamendia, Y, Bonacic, C and Vilá, B 2010 Behavioural and physiological consequences of capture for shearing of vicuñas in Argentina. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 125: 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2010.04.013CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Audige, L, Wilson, PR and Morris, RS 1998 A body condition score system and its use for farmed red deer hinds. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 41: 545–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288233.1998.9513337CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldi, R, Novaro, A, Funes, M, Walter, S, Ferrando, P, Failla, M and Carmanchahi, P 2010 Guanaco management in Patagonian rangelands: A conservation opportunity on the brink of collapse. In: du Toit, J, Kock, R and Deutsch, RJ (eds) Wild Rangelands: Conserving While Maintaining Livestock in Semi-Arid Ecosystems pp 266–290. Blackwell Publishing: USA. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444317091.ch10CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bateson, P and Wise, D 1998 Welfare of hunted red deer. Veterinary Record 142: 95Google ScholarPubMed
Berger, J and Cunningham, C 1998 Natural variation in horn size and social dominance and their importance to the conservation of the black rhinoceros. Conservation Biology 12: 708–711. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.97207.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolker, B 2012 Package ‘bbmle’. http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/bbmle/bbmle.pdfGoogle Scholar
Bonacic, C, Feber, RE and Macdonald, DW 2006 Capture of the vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) for sustainable use: animal welfare implications. Biological Conservation 129: 543–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2005.11.021CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonacic, C and Gimpel, J 2006 Animal welfare and five free-doms. The Camelid Quarterly: 1-3Google Scholar
Bonacic, C and Macdonald, DW 2003 The physiological impact of wool harvesting procedures in vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna). Animal Welfare 12: 387–402Google Scholar
Bonacic, C, Macdonald, DW and Villouta, G 2003 Adrenocorticotrophin-induced stress response in captive vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) in the Andes of Chile. Animal Welfare 12: 369–385Google Scholar
Candia, R, Puig, S, Dalmasso, A, Videla, F and Martínez Carretero, E 1993 Plan de Manejo de la Reserva La Payunia. Multequina 2: 5–87. [Title translation: Plan of management of Payunia Reserve]Google Scholar
Carmanchahi, P, Schroeder, N, Bolgeri, MJ, Walker, S, Funes, M, Berg, J, Taraborelli, P, Ovejero, R, Gregorio, P, Moreno, P and Novaro, A 2014 Live-shearing effect on population parameters and movements in sedentary and migratory pop-ulations of guanacos. Oryx 49: 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605314000027CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carmanchahi, PD, Ovejero, R, Marull, C, López, GC, Schroeder, N, Jahn, GA, Novaro, AJ and Somoza, GM 2011 Physiological response of wild guanacos to capture for live shearing. Wildlife Research 38: 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR10170CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caro, TM 1999a Demography and behaviour of African mammals subset to exploitation. Biological Conservation 91: 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00033-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caro, TM 1999b The behaviour-conservation interface. Tree 14:366–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01663-8Google ScholarPubMed
Chardonnet, P, des Clers, B, Fischer, J, Gerhold, R, Jori, F and Lamarque, F 2002 The value of wildlife. Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics) 21: 15–51. https://doi.org/10.20506/rst.21.1.1323Google ScholarPubMed
Coles, EH 1980 Veterinary Clinical Pathology. Saunders: Philadelphia, USAGoogle Scholar
Cook, CJ, Mellor, DJ, Harris, PJ, Ingram, JR and Mathews, LR 2000 Hands-on and hands-off measurement of stress. In: Moberg, GP and Mench, JA (eds) The Biology of Animal Stress: Basic Principles and Implications for Animal Welfare pp 123–146. CAB International: Wallingford, UK. https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851993591.0123CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creel, S 2005 Dominance, aggression, and glucocorticoid levels in social carnivores. Journal of Mammalogy 86: 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1644/BHE-002.1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, AK, Maney, DL and Maerz, JC 2008 The use of leuko-cyte profiles to measure stress in vertebrates: a review for ecol-ogists. Functional Ecology 22: 760–772. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01467.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dhabhar, FS 2002 A hassle a day may keep the doctor away: stress and the augmentation of immune function. Integrative and Comparative Biology 42: 556–564. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/42.3.556CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckert, R and Randall, DJ 1983 Animal Physiology: Mechanisms and Adaptations. Freeman WH: San Francisco, USAGoogle Scholar
Ferre, I, Goddard, PJ, Macdonald, AJ, Littlewood, CA and Duff, EI 1998 Effect of method of blood sample collection on adrenal activity in farmed red deer and sheep following adminis-tration of ACTH. Animal Science 67: 157–164. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1357729800009899CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franklin, WL 1983 Contrasting socioecologies of South America's wild camelids: the vicuña and the guanaco. In: Eisenberger, SF and Kleinman, DG (eds) Advances in the Study of Mammalian Behaviour pp573-629. American Society of Mammals: USAGoogle Scholar
Giles, RH 1971 Wildlife Management Techniques. The Wildlife Society: Washington, USAGoogle Scholar
Giles, RH 1978 Wildlife Management. WH Freeman Company: San Francisco, USAGoogle Scholar
Goddard, PJ, Gordon, IJ and Hamilton, WJ 1996 The effect of post-capture management strategy on the welfare and productiv-ity of wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds introduced to farming systems. Animal Science 63: 315–327. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1357729800014879CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goddard, PJ, Rhind, SM, Hamilton, WJ, Macdonald, AJ, Fawcett, AR, Soanes, C and McMillen, SR 1994 The adreno-corticotropic hormone stimulation test - its potential use and lim-itations in red deer (Cervus elaphus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 72: 1826–1830. https://doi.org/10.1139/z94-246CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harlow, HJ, Thorne, ET, Williams, ES, Belden, EL and Gern, WA 1987 Adrenal responsiveness in domestic sheep (Ovis aries) to acute and chronic stressors as predicted by remote monitoring of cardiac frequency. Canadian Journal of Zoology 65: 2021–2027. https://doi.org/10.1139/z87-307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, R, Halliwell, T, Shingleton, W, Stickland, N and Naylor, J 1999 The physiological response of red deer Cervus ela-phus to prolonged exercise undertaken during hunting. Royal Veterinary College, Newmarket, UKGoogle Scholar
Hofer, H and East, ML 1998 Biological conservation and stress. Advances in the Study of Behaviour 27: 405–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-3454(08)60370-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ims, RA and Yaccoz, NG 1997 Ecological methodology: study design and statistical analysis. University of Oslo, NorwayGoogle Scholar
Johnstone, CP, Reina, RD and Lill, A 2012 Interpreting indices of physiological stress in free-living vertebrates. Journal of Comparative Physiology B182: 861-879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-012-0656-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaneko, JJ, Harvey, JW and Bruss, M 1997 Clinical Biochemistry of Domestic Animals. Academic Press: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Lehner, PN 1996 Handbook of Ethological Methods, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKGoogle Scholar
Lynn, SE and Porter, AJ 2008 Trapping initiates stress response in breeding and non-breeding house sparrows Passer domesticus: implications for using unmonitored traps in field studies. Journal of Avian Biology 39: 87–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0908-8857.2008.04204.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martínez Carretero, E 2004 Provincia fitogeográfica de la Payunia. Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 39: 195–223.[Title translation: Phytogeographic province of Payunia]Google Scholar
Marull, C and Carmanchahi, P 2008 Protocolo de Buenas Prácticas de Manejo de Guanacos (Lama guanicoe) Silvestres. http://data.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/gecs/pdf/BA_guanacos.pdfGoogle Scholar
McCullagh, P and Nelder, JA 1983 Generalized Linear Models. Chapman and Hall: London, UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3244-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, GW, Macdonald, DW, Georgiou, C, Mathews, F, Newman, C and Mian, R 2003 Leukocyte coping capacity: a novel technique for measuring the stress response in vertebrates. Experimental Physiology 88: 541–546. https://doi.org/10.1113/eph8802571CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moberg, GP 1985 Biological response to stress: key to assess-ment of animal well-being. In: Moberg, GP (ed) Animal Stress pp 27–49. American Physiological Society, MD: Bethesda, US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7544-6_3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, NM and Tromborg, CT 2007 Sources of stress in cap-tivity. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 102: 262–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.032CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morton, DJ, Anderson, E, Foggin, CM, Kock, MD and Tiran, EP 1995 Plasma cortisol as an indicator of stress due to capture and translocation in wildlife species. Veterinarian Research 13: 60–63. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.136.3.60Google Scholar
Müller, C, Jenni-Eiermann, S and Jenni, L 2011 Heterophils/lymphocytes ratio and circulating corticosterone do not indicate the same stress imposed on Eurasian kestrel nestlings. Functional Ecology 25: 566–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01816.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novaro, A, Walker, S, Bolgeri, M, Berg, J, Rivas, L and Carmanchahi, P 2005 Movimientos estacionales en la población de guanacos de La Payunia. Primer informe de avances. Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables de Mendoza, Argentina. [Title translation: Seasonal movements in the guanacos population of La Payunia. First report of advances]Google Scholar
Ovejero, R 2013 Variación del nivel de cortisol en función de facto-res sociales y ambientales en guanacos ( Lama guanicoe). Implicancias para la conservación y manejo de las poblaciones silvestres. Doctoral Thesis, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina. [Title translation: Variation of the cortisol level in function of social and environmental factors in guanacos (Lama guanicoe). Implications for conservation and man-agement of wild populations]Google Scholar
Primack, RB 2002 Essentials of Conservation Biology, Third Edition. Sinauer Associates Inc: Sunderland, MA, USAGoogle Scholar
Puig, S 1995 Técnicas para el Manejo del Guanaco. UICN/CSE: Gland, Switzerland. [Title translation: Techniques for guanaco management]Google Scholar
Puig, S, Ferraris, G, Superina, M and Videla, F 2003 Distribución de densidades de guanacos (Lama guanicoe) en el norte de la Reserva La Payunia y su área de influencia (Mendoza, Argentina). Multequina 12: 37–48. [Title translation: Distribution of densities of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) in the north of La Payunia Reserve and its area of influence (Mendoza, Argentina)]Google Scholar
Radostits, OM, Blood, DC and Gay, CC 1994 Veterinary Medicine: A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Goats and Horses. Bailliere Tindall: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Romero, LM, Dickens, MJ and Cyr, NE 2009 The Reactive Scope Model - a new model integrating homeostasis, allostasis, and stress. Hormones and Behavior 55: 375–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.12.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romero, LM and Romero, RC 2002 Corticosterone responses in wild birds: the importance of rapid initial sampling. Condor 104:129–135. https://doi.org/10.1650/0010-5422(2002)104[0129:CRIWBT]2.0.CO;2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakai, A and Larcher, W 2012 Frost Survival of Plants: Responses and Adaptation to Freezing Stress. Springer Science & Business Media: Berlin, GermanyGoogle Scholar
Schmidt-Nielsen, K 1997 Animal Physiology Adaptation and Environment. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schroeder, N, Ovejero, R, Moreno, P, Gregorio, P, Taraborelli, P, Matteucci, S and Carmanchahi, P 2013 Including species interactions in resource selection of guanacos and livestock in Northern Patagonia. Journal of Zoology 291: 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12065CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, EA and Wishnie, M 2000 Conservation and subsistence in small-scale societies. Annual Review of Anthropology 29: 493–524. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.29.1.493CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taraborelli, P, Ovejero, R, Schroeder, N, Moreno, P, Gregorio, P and Carmanchahi, P 2011 Behavioral and physio-logical stress responses to handling in wild guanacos. Journal of Nature Conservation 19: 356–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2011.06.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarlow, EM and Blumstein, DT 2007 Evaluating methods to quan-tify anthropogenic stressors on wild animals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 102: 429–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.040CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, V and Dunstone, N 1996 The Exploitation of Mammal Populations. Chapman and Hall: London, UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1525-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vilá, B and Cassini, MH 1993 Summer and autumn activity pat-terns of vicuña. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 28:251–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650529309360908CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber Nielsen, MS and Bergfeld, E 2003 Critical perspectives in animal agriculture: A response. Journal of Animal Science 81:2908–2911. https://doi.org/10.2527/2003.81112908xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, BK, Nichols, JD and Conroy, MJ 2002 Analysis and Management of Animal Populations. Academic Press: USAGoogle Scholar
Zapata, B, Gimpel, J, Bonacic, C, González, B, Riveros, JL, Ramirez, A, Bas, F and Macdonald, D 2004 The effect of trans-port on cortisol, glucose, heart rate, leukocytes and weight in captive-reared guanacos (Lama guanicoe). Animal Welfare 13: 439–444Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Taraborelli et al. supplementary material

Appendix 1

Download Taraborelli et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 82 KB