Activity Patterns of Eudromia elegans in the Monte Desert, Argentina

Abstract

Physiological and ethological mechanisms allow a widespread distribution of vertebrates through different bioclimatic areas. E. elegans occupies an extensive region in Argentina; probably as a consequence of its special biological characteristics and strategies. This paper describes the circadian activity of the species and its seasonal variation and identifies factors influencing it, in the Monte desert. Active specimens censused in different hours, on successive days each season, were related to day length and environmental temperature. lt is concluded that the length and the intensity of the activity are determined by the light and the temperature, respectively. Predominantly diurnal, Crested Tinamou activity is favored near 2O°C temperatures. This renders unimodal activity curves in winter and bimodal curves in the other seasons. This behaviour is similar to that of other desert vertebrates and likely reflects an ethological adaptive strategy for the species.