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New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru

  • Sam Pottie EMAIL logo , Arianna Basto , Andrew Whitworth , Christopher Beirne , Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya and Adrian Forsyth
Published/Copyright: February 12, 2025
Mammalia
From the journal Mammalia Volume 89 Issue 3

Abstract

This study provides new insights into the behavioral ecology of Dinomys branickii based on long-term camera trap surveys conducted at three sites along an altitudinal gradient in southeastern Peru. Notably, we document the first known cases of geophagy in this species, which suggests a highly herbivorous diet. Moreover, in contrast to previous reports that described D. branickii as a group-living species, our data indicate that it is primarily solitary, with group formations likely limited to reproductive activities. Additionally, we confirm the species’ predominantly nocturnal and crepuscular activity patterns, with most activity occurring between 02:00 and 05:00 h. By calculating and comparing camera trap detection rates, used as an index of relative abundance (RAI), for D. branickii across different surveys, we highlight the species’ ecological rarity, evidenced by consistently low detection rates (0.163; 0.173 and 0.011 events per 1,000 trap-days) across diverse habitats and survey designs.

Keywords: activity pattern; geophagy; social structure; detection-rate; relative abundance index
Corresponding author: Sam Pottie, Climate Corridors, 1759 R Street, Washington, DC, 20009, USA, E-mail:

Funding source: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Funding source: Wildlife Protection Solutions

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the field rangers of the Los Amigos Conservation Concession for their support in maintaining the camera-trap grid, as well as Julie Van den Broeck for providing us the video of the pacarana in Cocha Cashu Biological Station.

  1. Research ethics: This study was conducted in full compliance with all necessary ethical guidelines and regulations. Research activities were carried out under the research permit Nº AUT-IFS-2024-025n, issued by SERFOR, ensuring adherence to ethical standards for wildlife research.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: S.P. conceptualized the study and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. A.B. was responsible for the logistics of the study and contributed to data collection in Los Amigos. A.W. participated in data collection for the Manu Tree Top Project and helped create the manuscript into its final form. C.B. collected data for the Manu Tree Top Project and performed the data analyses and assisted in the final write-up of the draft. R.P.H. was responsible for data collection in the Kosnipata Valley. A.F. helped conceptualize the study and create the final manuscript. All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: Funding for the camera-traps was provided by the Moore Foundation (https://www.moore.org) and Wildlife Protection Solutions (https://www.wildlifeprotectionsolutions.org).

  7. Data availability: Camera trap videos of Dinomys branickii conducting geophagy were made available through a data repository and can be accessed through the following DOIs: https://doi.org/10.5446/68598 and https://doi.org/10.5446/68591.

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Received: 2024-09-02
Accepted: 2025-01-22
Published Online: 2025-02-12
Published in Print: 2025-05-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2024-0127
Keywords for this article
activity pattern; geophagy; social structure; detection-rate; relative abundance index

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Conservation
  3. Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
  4. Ecology
  5. New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
  6. Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
  7. Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
  8. Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
  9. How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
  10. First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
  11. Biogeography
  12. The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
  13. First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
  14. Ethology
  15. Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
  16. Taxonomy/Phylogeny
  17. On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
  18. New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
  19. Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
  20. Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
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