University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 12-15-2007 Natural history of the pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) in Mendoza Province, Argentina Mariella Superina University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Superina, Mariella, "Natural history of the pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) in Mendoza Province, Argentina" (2007). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 604. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/604 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Natural history of the pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) in Mendoza Province, Argentina A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Conservation Biology by Mariella Superina Med. vet., Universität Zürich, 1998 Dr. med. vet., Universität Zürich, 2000 December, 2007 Copyright 2007, Mariella Superina ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the support and assistance of many friends, colleagues, family members, and locals from Mendoza Province. Above all, I would like to thank Aelita Pinter for her constant encouragement and friendship. I greatly enjoyed each of our brainstorming sessions and meetings filled with laughter and enlightening discussions. Her contagious energy and enthusiasm saved my day more than once. Roberto Aguilar introduced me to the fascinating area of conservation biology and convinced me to apply to the Ph.D. program at University of New Orleans. His endless patience and continuous encouragement helped me overcome many difficult moments during the process of developing the project, doing my research, and writing the dissertation. He is a true friend. I would especially like to thank my first advisor, Patrice Boily, for his guidance, commitment, and support. Pat relocated to Connecticut after Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area. I was very happy and honored that Barry Bavister immediately accepted to take over the job as my major professor for the remaining year. I thank him for believing in me and for his constant encouragement. I would also like to express my thanks to Nicola Anthony for her input and fruitful discussions, and to Liliane Bavister for proofreading the dissertation. Guillermo Ferraris played a fundamental role in the completion of this dissertation, and I am grateful for his patience, encouragement, and sacrifice. He not only supported my idea of building enclosures for an armadillo colony in our backyard, but also helped taking care of the animals. Thanks to his amazing knowledge of Mendoza I was able to get to know every single corner of this wonderful Province, which not only allowed me to sample pichis in the remotest areas, but also converted each field trip into a fascinating expedition that motivated me to continue with my research. I very much appreciated the constant support I received from Ramón Martínez and Virgilio Roig while doing my field research in Argentina, and special thanks are extended to the staff at the Dirección de Recursos Naturales Renovables of Mendoza Province, and especially everyone at the Departamento de Fauna, for their help and interest in my research. It is extremely rewarding to see that my efforts are contributing to the conservation of these strange little creatures. Many rangers and inspectors, especially Leonardo Orozco, Martín Palma, iii Leonardo Muñoz, Diego Martí, and Fabricio Ayala, generously collaborated with sample collection. It was always lots of fun to work with them. Marcelo Aba and Carolina Bianchi helped me making my first steps in endocrinological research. I greatly enjoyed the time I spent at their lab. I am very thankful to Graciela Jahn for opening her lab to a complete stranger. It was a great privilege to work in her lab and learn new techniques in such a stimulating environment and with the help of such nice, knowledgeable people like her, Alberto Koninckx, Norma Carreño, Belén Hapón, and Melisa Bonafede, among others. I thank Janine Brown for patiently sending me detailed email responses to all my questions about fecal hormone analysis; Dante Guglielmin for providing meteorological data; Roberto Mera y Sierra for help with blood analyses; Gastón Alvarez for performing many ultrasound examinations on my pichis; and Florencia Campón, Rodolfo Carrara, and Erica Stevani for spending many hours helping me with the analysis of stomach contents. Cristina López-Gallego, Alejo Lopera, Yvonne Siabatto, and Mery Martinez are great friends with whom I shared fantastic moments during my graduate studies. John Aguiar helped me track down many research papers and always found a way to cheer me up when I sent him frustrated emails. I could always count on Yvette Stilley’s help while being away from UNO, and it was always great to see her smile when entering our main office. Patricia Nuñez and Juliana Yorlano always found time to share some mate. Jorge Bustelo not only provided expert assistance with medical treatment and surgical intervention of pichis; more importantly, I want to thank him for his friendship. Finally, I am very thankful to my family for their constant support during this process. I gratefully acknowledge the institutional support that I have received while working on this project. I thank the Louisiana State Board of Regents for supporting me with a fellowship. The generous financial support of the University of New Orleans, the IUCN Edentate Specialist Group Conservation Action Fund, Pittsburgh Zoo, and The Arizona Zoological Society/The Phoenix Zoo was crucial for the completion of my fieldwork. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Index of Figures ............................................................................................................................. vi Index of Tables ............................................................................................................................. vii Abstract........................................................................................................................................viii Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Reproduction of pichis (Zaedyus pichiy) .................................................................... 11 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 11 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................................. 14 Results....................................................................................................................................... 25 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 38 Conclusions............................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 2: Hibernation and daily torpor in pichis (Zaedyus pichiy)............................................. 54 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 54 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................................. 55 Results....................................................................................................................................... 58 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 64 Chapter 3: Diet of the pichi Zaedyus pichiy in Mendoza Province, Argentina ............................ 68 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 68 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................................. 69 Results....................................................................................................................................... 71 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 74 Chapter 4: Health evaluation of wild and captive pichis (Zaedyus pichiy) .................................. 81 Introduction............................................................................................................................... 81 Materials and Methods.............................................................................................................. 83 Results......................................................................................................................................