Are scats and radiotelemetry data similar indicators of habitat use?

Abstract

In the desert zones of Northern México, the main economical activity is the raising of cattle. In the Mapimí Biosphere reserve, located in the Chihuahuan desert, exists two kinds of cattle: feral and domestic. To propose a reliable and standardizad technique to evalúate the use of habitat, we compare two fieid methods: a) feces count transects, proportional to each habitat type and b) radiotelemetry relocations collected over 24 hour cycles. Both techniques gave similar results in habitat preferences and avoidances. Two habitat types, hillsides with clay soil {H9) and volcanic rocky mountains (H10) were preferred by feral cattle. The habitats avoided were flat-topped hills (H1) and hillsides with sandy-clay soils (H6). However oniy with feces transects could we estímate the frequency of habitat use in canyon areas where it was difficult to follow animáis with telemetry. We conclude that both techniques can be applied to assessing cattle habitat use in the desert environment.