CHARACTERISTICS OF ARTIFICIAL WATER SOURCES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE USE BY WILDLIFE IN COAHUILA, MEXICO

Abstract

With the goal of providing water to wildlife species of hunting interest, the construction of artificial water sources began in the 1940s and 1950s by state and federal agencies of the United States. However, for their construction and establishment, not all the factors that increase its use by wildlife are considered. The objective of this study was to relate the frequency of use of artificial water sources by wildlife with their physical characteristics, temperature, relative humidity of the area, water quality and characteristics of the surrounding vegetation to these in UMA Rancho San Juan, Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. In this study, even when it is considered that the water location, the temperature and the humidity are important, the characteristics of the vegetation adjacent to the water sources is what that influences most their use by wildlife. The frequency of use of water sources by wildlife was recorded with camera traps (HC500 HyperFire Semi-Covert IR of Reconyx, Wisconsin, USA). To understand which of the variables studied were most associated with the frequency of visits, a Poisson regression coefficient test was carried out with the R-Studio software; and for a graphic visualization of this association, a multiple correspondence analysis was performed in the Xlstat software. The species that used the artificial water sources most were white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, 32.8%), raccoon (Procyon lotor, 18.9%) and peccary (Pecari tajacu, 8.29%). Of the 57 variables evaluated, 11 were associated more with the frequency of visits to the water sources. The multiple correspondence analysis identified that the width of the water source edge from 1 to 10 cm and the frequent presence of Vachellia farnesiana were the variables that related most with the category of high frequency of visits. These results can be of use to better understand the use of artificial water sources by wildlife and possibly increase the probability of its use.