Loss of Migratory Traditions Makes the Endangered Patagonian Huemul Deer a Year-Round Refugee in Its Summer Habitat
Werner T. Flueck,
Jo Anne M. Smith-Flueck,
Miguel E. Escobar,
Melina Zuliani,
Beat Fuchs,
Valerius Geist,
James R. Heffelfinger,
Patricia Black-Decima,
Zygmunt Gizejewski,
Fernando Vidal,
Javier Barrio,
Silvina M. Molinuevo,
Adrian J. Monjeau,
Stefan Hoby,
Jaime E. Jiménez
Affiliations
Werner T. Flueck
National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires 1425, Argentina
Jo Anne M. Smith-Flueck
Laboratorio de Teriogenología ‘Dr Héctor H. Morello’, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Cinco Saltos 8303, Argentina
Miguel E. Escobar
Fundación Shoonem, Parque Protegido Shoonem, Alto Río Senguer 9033, Argentina
Melina Zuliani
National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires 1425, Argentina
Beat Fuchs
DeerLab, Bariloche 8400, Argentina
Valerius Geist
Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB TIN 1N4, Canada
James R. Heffelfinger
Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ 85006, USA
Patricia Black-Decima
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucuman 4000, Argentina
Zygmunt Gizejewski
Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pl-10-747 Olsztyn, Poland
Fernando Vidal
Departamento de Ciencias Basicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Univerdidad Santo Tomas, Villarrica 8370003, Chile
Javier Barrio
Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad, Lima 33, Peru
Silvina M. Molinuevo
Laboratorio de Investigacion en Osteopatias y Metabolismo Mineral, Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata 1900, Argentina
Adrian J. Monjeau
National Council of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), Buenos Aires 1425, Argentina
Stefan Hoby
Berne Animal Park, 3006 Bern, Switzerland
Jaime E. Jiménez
Department of Biological Sciences, Advanced Environmental Research Institute, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
The huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) is endangered, with 1500 deer split into >100 subpopulations along 2000 km of the Andes. Currently occupied areas are claimed-erroneously-to be critical prime habitats. We analyzed historical spatiotemporal behavior since current patterns represent only a fraction of pre-Columbian ones. Given the limited knowledge, the first group (n = 6) in Argentina was radio-marked to examine spatial behavior. Historically, huemul resided year-round in winter ranges, while some migrated seasonally, some using grasslands >200 km east of their current presence, reaching the Atlantic. Moreover, huemul anatomy is adapted to open unforested habitats, also corroborated by spotless fawns. Extreme naivety towards humans resulted in early extirpation on many winter ranges—preferentially occupied by humans, resulting in refugee huemul on surrounding mountain summer ranges. Radio-marked huemul remained in small ranges with minimal altitudinal movements, as known from other subpopulations. However, these resident areas documented here are typical summer ranges as evidenced by past migrations, and current usage for livestock. The huemul is the only cervid known to use mountain summer ranges year-round in reaction to anthropogenic activities. Losing migratory traditions is a major threat, and may explain their presently prevalent skeletal diseases, reduced longevity, and lacking recolonizations for most remaining huemul subpopulations.