Oct 2006

Distribución De Necromys Lactens y Phyllotis Osilae (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) En El Noroeste Argentino: Modelos Predictivos Basados En El Concepto De Nicho Ecológico

Autores: J. Pablo Jayat y Silvia Pacheco

We used presence data from field records, museum specimens and literature sources to model the potential distribution of two species of sigmodontine rodents, Necromys lactens and Phyllotis osilae in northwestern Argentina, based on environmental variables. We worked with two data sets, one constituted only by reliable data and the other one constituted by these reliable data plus other information considered more doubtful because of its controvertible identification and location. The models obtained from the reliable data set were more efficient in the prediction of distribution than doubtful data. Both species were associated to high altitude grasslands and ecotone environments between 1200 and 3200 m elevation, being P. osilae’s distribution a little more extended than N. lactens.