Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme

Capybaras, (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are large, herbivorous New World hystricomorphs, common in the seasonally flooded savannas of tropical and subtropical South America. In this paper we review the social structure and dynamics of capybaras across much of their geographic range. Wherever they hav...

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Autor principal: Corriale, Maria Jose
Publicado: 2011
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Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera
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spelling paper:paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera2023-06-08T14:47:37Z Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme Corriale, Maria Jose Capybaras Dispersal Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris Intraspecific variation Social structure dispersal dominance intraspecific variation rodent savanna seasonal variation social behavior social structure Animalia Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris Hystricognathi Capybaras, (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are large, herbivorous New World hystricomorphs, common in the seasonally flooded savannas of tropical and subtropical South America. In this paper we review the social structure and dynamics of capybaras across much of their geographic range. Wherever they have been studied capybaras live in groups. Capybara groups are stable social units composed of adult males and females (sex ratio biased toward females) with their young. A linear dominance hierarchy characterizes interactions among males, and the dominant male obtains most matings. Group sizes range from 6 to 16 adult members and vary with habitat characteristics and population density. At higher densities group sizes and the proportion of floaters (apparently unaffiliated animals; mostly males) increase. In 1 low-density location dispersal appears to occur in groups of both sexes, whereas in another location, where density is higher, males disperse and females are philopatric. We also discuss more conceptual issues (mostly proximate and ultimate mechanisms) that relate to intraspecific variation in social behavior in general, and capybaras in particular. © 2011 American Society of Mammalogists. Fil:Corriale, M.J. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2011 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Capybaras
Dispersal
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Intraspecific variation
Social structure
dispersal
dominance
intraspecific variation
rodent
savanna
seasonal variation
social behavior
social structure
Animalia
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Hystricognathi
spellingShingle Capybaras
Dispersal
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Intraspecific variation
Social structure
dispersal
dominance
intraspecific variation
rodent
savanna
seasonal variation
social behavior
social structure
Animalia
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Hystricognathi
Corriale, Maria Jose
Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme
topic_facet Capybaras
Dispersal
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Intraspecific variation
Social structure
dispersal
dominance
intraspecific variation
rodent
savanna
seasonal variation
social behavior
social structure
Animalia
Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris
Hystricognathi
description Capybaras, (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are large, herbivorous New World hystricomorphs, common in the seasonally flooded savannas of tropical and subtropical South America. In this paper we review the social structure and dynamics of capybaras across much of their geographic range. Wherever they have been studied capybaras live in groups. Capybara groups are stable social units composed of adult males and females (sex ratio biased toward females) with their young. A linear dominance hierarchy characterizes interactions among males, and the dominant male obtains most matings. Group sizes range from 6 to 16 adult members and vary with habitat characteristics and population density. At higher densities group sizes and the proportion of floaters (apparently unaffiliated animals; mostly males) increase. In 1 low-density location dispersal appears to occur in groups of both sexes, whereas in another location, where density is higher, males disperse and females are philopatric. We also discuss more conceptual issues (mostly proximate and ultimate mechanisms) that relate to intraspecific variation in social behavior in general, and capybaras in particular. © 2011 American Society of Mammalogists.
author Corriale, Maria Jose
author_facet Corriale, Maria Jose
author_sort Corriale, Maria Jose
title Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme
title_short Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme
title_full Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme
title_fullStr Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme
title_full_unstemmed Capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: Variations on a theme
title_sort capybara social structure and dispersal patterns: variations on a theme
publishDate 2011
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00222372_v92_n1_p12_Herrera
work_keys_str_mv AT corrialemariajose capybarasocialstructureanddispersalpatternsvariationsonatheme
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