Assessment of stakeholder perceptions of the damage to silo bags by vertebrate species in Argentina |
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| Authors: | Emmanuel Zufiaurre Agustín M Abba David N Bilenca |
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| Institution: | 1. Grupo de Estudios sobre Biodiversidad en Agroecosistemas (GEBA), Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores CEPAVE (CONICET-UNLP), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA), La Plata, Argentina;2. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina;3. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores CEPAVE (CONICET-UNLP), La Plata, Argentina |
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| Abstract: | We conducted an on-line questionnaire to assess stakeholder perceptions about damage to silo bags by vertebrate species in Argentina. We received 190 responses reporting damage to silo bags by vertebrates from the Pampas, Espinal, and Chaco regions. More than two-thirds of respondents indicated armadillos were the main harmful species, followed by rodents and dogs. Frequency of damage to silo bags was higher for armadillos (79%) than for the other species together (64%), and was higher in the Pampas (79%) than in the other regions (45–66%), suggesting a latitudinal gradient of damage. Economic losses were reported as “medium” or “high” by 37% of respondents. According to these stakeholders, damage to silo bags by vertebrates is a regionally extended phenomenon in most of the Argentine agricultural region and it is recognized as economically relevant by these stakeholders. Management of this conflict should focus on environmental aspects. |
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| Keywords: | Chaetophractus villosus harvest bags on-line questionnaire postharvest stored products |
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