NATURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION
We are taking different actions for the conservation of natural heritage in each of its categories. Here we tell you about these areas of action:
The objective is the conservation of biodiversity and the promotion of coexistence between human activity and species. How are we going to achieve this goal? Articulating with other actors, making spaces available for conservation, co-executing conservation projects, disseminating information, and generating public and private advocacy.
BIODIVERSITY
AREAS OF ACTION
MONITORING THROUGH CAMERA TRAPS
The installation sites have been selected in order to maximize the probability of obtaining records of the puma, such as rocks, ravines, hill edges, and other potential places of passage.
The cameras were programmed to work 24 hours a day and record 30-second videos, a method that has delivered good results for the individual identification of the captures made.
(Kelly et al., 2008).
The camera trap methodology has proven to be effective for recording species that are difficult to detect, such as carnivores (McDonald, 2004; O'Connell et al., 2011).
LIVESTOCK PROTECTION DOGS
The implementation of measures to minimize puma predation on domestic livestock is very important in the work we are doing. Among them, for some years prior to the execution of the foundation, Estancia Cerro Guido has used the Pyrenees and Maremma Mountain Shepherd breed herd guard dogs, which have proven to be efficient as a non-lethal alternative. and which in turn has helped minimize predation on livestock by wild and feral carnivores.
(Gehring et al., 2010; Rigg et al., 2011; Potgieter et al., 2015).
LIGHT DETERRENT DEVICES:
"FOXLIGHTS"
We are working with Foxlights-type devices, light deterrents whose function is to prevent the cougar from approaching the area where they have been installed. These devices include LED lights of different colors, which are activated permanently at night, intermittently, simulating a human being with a flashlight or light, and which are recharged with a solar panel during the day.
EXPERIMENTS WITH
PANTHERA FOUNDATION
In the first stage of this collaboration, we will seek to know and quantify the effectiveness of the use of herd guard dogs to reduce the incidence of attacks by pumas and other carnivores on sheep. In parallel, the use of light and sound deterrents will be evaluated as a tool to protect livestock. For this, an experiment was designed in which six experimental fields will be used, two of which will be used with flocks of sheep, one with and the other without the care of guard dogs.
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Learn more about our work with
Panthera Foundation here.
PALEONTOLOGY
Since the paleontological assets are national property, the role of the foundation is limited to the facilitation and disposal of such assets for the development of paleontology in the area. The objective is to make visible and available the paleontological deposits of the territory.
How are we going to achieve this goal? Articulating with other actors, disseminating information of paleontological interest, communicating findings and paleontological remains. In addition to promoting paleontological research in the area and generating educational and dissemination material.
AREAS OF ACTION
EXPEDITIONS
During the last 10 years, a series of expeditions have been made to the Cerro Guido locality. During these expeditions, geological and paleontological studies have been carried out, with the aim of describing the fossil record, understanding paleoenvironmental and climatic evolution, and evaluating possible connections with Antarctica.
PROSPECTION AND IDENTIFICATION
The prospection consists of the search and recognition in situ of the fossiliferous material. After identifying the fossiliferous level of interest, the extraction is carried out based on various techniques depending on the group of fossils to be studied.
STRATIGRAPHIC SURVEY
This consists of describing all the strata through the construction of stratigraphic profiles, in which the type of rock, sedimentary structures and fossils are identified. This task is carried out from the base to the top of the outcrops, which, among other things, allows the fossil record to be given a context. Finally, with the set of both sedimentological and paleontological information, it is possible to obtain a paleoenvironmental interpretation that helps to reconstruct how the environments evolved throughout geological time.
EXTRACTION
The extraction of the fossils will depend on the objectives of the various working groups. In the case of vertebrates, excavations are carried out at the levels of interest, using the “bubble” technique, which consists of building a real plaster capsule around the bones. We also have “picking”, which is the search for small fossils, whether it be teeth or small bone fragments, which is done with the naked eye on the surface of the strata, separating the fossil fragments from the sediment.
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil but because of those who do nothing to prevent it"
- Albert Einstein