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Preliminary study on the ecology, behaviour and demography of the bare-faced curassow (Crax fasciolata) in the gallery forest of the Pilagá river, Formosa, Argentina

Abstract:

In Argentina there are six species of cracids, the Bare-faced Curassow (Crax fasciolata) being the most endangered and geographically restricted. Given that the main populations of the Barefaced Curassow apparently exist along the rivers of eastern Formosa, the study was conducted in the gallery forests of the Pilagá River in the Guaycolec Ranch to (1) produce the first systematic and quantitative study of a Bare-faced Curassow population in the country, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of population assessments conducted through land, water, camera traps, and playbacks as techniques for assessing the population status of the species. During 20 days, 22 assessments were conducted on land and 8 by water, which resulted in the detection of Barefaced Curassow on 22 separate occasions (39 individuals). The camera traps produced 227 pictures of Bare-faced Curassow between October 2010 and July 2012 (4007 camera-days). Contact was made with an individual following 3 of the 10 playback sessions. The Bare-faced Curassow was always sighted as single individuals or in small groups of 2-5 individuals, exclusively during the day, more frequently with low and mild temperatures and in close proximity to the river. Due to the lack of national and provincial areas that can protect the gallery forests of eastern Formosa, it is imperative to develop conservation strategies for the species that consider the private ranches characteristic of the region.