Environmental heterogeneity and habitat use of the red viscacha rat in drylands of west‐central Argentina

Abstract

Environmental heterogeneity shapes the traits of natural populations, including space use and burrowing behavior. We studied the red viscacha rat (Tympanoctomys barrerae), a semifossorial rodent with patchy distribution in drylands of west‐central Argentina, to provide ecological data on habitat and burrow features of this specialist species. We collected data on 165 burrows and 55 individuals from 2017–2018 and observed correlations between different vegetation types, vegetation diversity, and physical attributes (e.g., soil hardness). A high number of individual red viscacha rats was negatively associated with herbs. The number of burrow entrances was positively associated with harder soils and negatively associated with vegetation cover. Our results suggest that the species' patchy distribution is strongly associated with environmental heterogeneity of these arid environments, and consequently provide an essential step towards conserving their populations across their geographic range.