The Iberá wetlands of Argentina are the second largest wetlands in South America (1.3 million hectares); they are a heterogeneous landscape and home to a rich diversity of large vertebrates. They are protected by the Provincial Iberá Reserve, slated to be a national park, but urgently in need of planning and management tools. The primary objectives of this project were to 1) design and implement a multi-scale macrovertebrate monitoring program in Iberá to detect population-level changes in response to management practices and that was adaptable to the availability of new technologies; and 2) understand the interactions between landscape conditions and the presence of macrovertebrates, generating habitat suitability maps for these species to inform their management and conservation.
Numerous aerial surveys of large vertebrates were conducted throughout the Iberá basin. Line transects were employed to estimate distribution and abundance of marsh deer. Distribution data were also collected for other species – capybara, caiman and aquatic birds – and audio recordings were conducted to estimate abundance. For local monitoring at specific sites, we implemented a low-cost aerial photo approach, taking advantage of local resources. This method will be useful for monitoring species currently managed and re-introduced in the future Iberá National Park.
At the landscape scale the aerial surveys were utilized to generate presence maps for large birds, mammals and reptiles. We used GIS and satellite data to generate habitat variables at local and regional scales, including environmental, management and direct anthropogenic pressure variables. Models were developed combining the variables that best explained species’ distributions. With these models, maps were generated that predict suitable habitat for each species; combined, the maps can inform landscape and management planning for the future national park. At the local scale, the aerial photographs were used to develop census and density estimation methods for several representative species of Iberá, and the data are being used to understand behavior and habitat use by these species.
Our research products were submitted to The Conservation Land Trust, the non-governmental organization leading the effort to create Iberá National Park and develop eco-tourism in the region. These materials will contribute to the management, education and communication tools being leveraged for creation of the future national park. ($6,940)