NAHUEL HUAPI NATIONAL PARK, ARGENTINA: CONSERVATION EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT THROUGH MONITORING SMALL MAMMAL COMMUNITIES

Abstract

Protected areas are the cornerstone of conservation strategies, but their effectiveness is increasingly questioned. In Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park, we compared small mammals in unprotected areas and areas with three protection levels: (1) human activity forbidden, (2) recreation can be authorised, and (3) authorised tourism and extractive uses. A capture-mark-recapture study on five plots in each type of area included a trapping effort of 41,600 traps/night. In 2015, we trapped seven native rodent species and an endemic marsupial. In 2016, we captured the same species except for one rodent. Species richness did not vary among protection levels. However, greatest abundances were in the highest protection level and lowest abundances in the lowest level. We found scant evidence that the Nahuel Huapi National Park protection system substantially conserves small mammals. However, higher abundances in the highest protection level suggest direct human interaction negatively affects this assemblage.