The high Andean Polylepis woodlands are home to a unique biota, including an outstanding avifauna. They are one of the most threatened mountain ecosystems worldwide; accordingly, they have been the object of the first restoration initiatives in South America. Here, we evaluated the effectiveness of 20-year Polylepis australis woodland restoration efforts to recover the woodland bird communities. We recorded bird diversity and abundance in an ongoing restoration site (with a high proportion of woodland) and in a control site, where no active restoration efforts were made (with a high proportion of grasslands and bare soil), 15 and 20 years after the start of the restoration project. We compared the avifauna of these sites with that of reference mature woodlands, using published records of the study region. At the ongoing restoration site, bird diversity increased over time, as well as abundances of species associated with P. australis, whereas those parameters remained stable at the control site. Our results are the first evidence that active restoration of P. australis entails passive restoration of the avifauna occurring in these unique upland forests.

Wildlife reintroduction is an increasingly used strategy to reverse anthropocene defaunation. For the purpose of ecosystem restoration, in 2007 the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) was reintroduced to the Quebrada del Condorito National Park, situated in the mountains of central Argentina. With the aim of developing management recommendations, the project included permanently monitoring the population to evaluate its dynamics and the ecological response of the individuals released into the area. Nine years later and after two releases of guanacos (113 individuals in 2007 without and 25 in 2011 with a pre-adaptation period), only 24 individuals, which conform three reproductive groups, and one group of solitary males were settled in the Park. Here I modeled a population viability analysis to evaluate extinction risk, using VORTEX software. Initial population structure, specified age distribution, mortality and reproductive rates, and mate monopolization recorded during field work were used in the model, whereas the remaining used demographic parameters, such as age of first offspring, maximum number of broods per year, mean foaling rate, and length of fecundity period, were taken from the literature. Each of the three different scenarios (without supplementation of individuals, and with a realistic and optimistic supplementation) and two possible catastrophic events (fires and food shortage) covering 100 years was repeated 1000 times. Even though the guanaco reintroduction project can be considered to have been partially successful since its start, the model predicts that the current reintroduced population could be extinct in the next few decades if no reinforcements occur, and that only a continuous supplementation can reach the probability that the population survives over the next 100 years. I conclude that, so far, the current population is at a high risk of extinction if further supplementation of individuals is discontinued.

El objetivo de este trabajo consistió en identificar las principales especies animales que actúan sobre carcasas de ungulados de gran porte en un área cercana al extremo austral de las Salinas Grandes de Córdoba y su potencial como agentes tafonómicos, considerando variables ecológicas como etología, competencia y posición en la cadena trófica. Con este fin, se realizaron tres monitoreos con cámaras trampa sobre carcasas de Bos taurus y Lama guanicoe. Además, se efectuaron observaciones preliminares sobre desarticulación, dispersión y trazas generadas por distintos agentes tafonómicos sobre las carcasas, a fin de contribuir a nuestro entendimiento sobre los procesos naturales de formación de conjuntos zooarqueológicos en la región. Los monitoreos permitieron registrar 5870 animales en 194 días entre noviembre de 2017 y mayo de 2019. Aves (77,13%) y mamíferos (22,84%) fueron las clases mejor representadas. Entre las aves, se destacan Coragyps atratus, Caracara plancus, Vultur gryphus y Milvago chimango, mientras que entre los mamíferos destaca Lycalopex griseus y las especies exóticas Sus scrofa y Canis lupus familiaris. Se observaron diferencias entre los ensambles faunísticos registrados en cada monitoreo en función del tiempo transcurrido desde la muerte de los animales y de su ubicación espacial.

Although the creation of protected areas helps to protect biodiversity, it does not necessarily contribute to the reduction in some conflicts, such as livestock predation by large carnivores. We evaluated the presence of puma (Puma concolor) in a large ranch converted into a National Park and in surrounding rancher areas in the Dry Chaco of Argentina. Two years after livestock removal from the protected area, puma occupancy was associated with wild prey richness, which was greater in the park than in the neighboring ranches, and was negatively related to livestock presence. We also evaluated ranchers’ perceptions of puma presence and their tolerance to livestock predation. Ranchers showed a negative perception of puma presence and a low tolerance to livestock predation. Therefore, this study suggests that, while the creation of a protected area can improve both predator and prey densities, successful mitigation of human–predator conflict requires further strategies and interventions, like economic compensation and environmental education programs.