Social structure in a family group of Guanaco (Lama guanicoe, Ungulate): is female hierarchy based on 'prior attributes' or 'social dynamics'?

Social life involves costs and benefits mostly associated with how individuals interact with each other. The formation of hierarchies inside social groups has evolved as a common strategy to avoid high costs stemming from social interactions. Hierarchical relationships seem to be associated with different features such as body size, body condition and/or age, which determine dominance ability ('prior attributes' hypothesis). In contrast, the 'social dynamic' hypothesis suggests that an initial social context is a determinant in the formation of the hierarchy, more so than specific individual attributes. Hierarchical rank places individuals in higher positions, which presumably increases resource accessibility to their benefit, including opportunities for reproduction. We evaluate the maintenance of hierarchy in a family group of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) and evaluate the possible mechanisms involved in the stability of these interactions and their consequences. We estimate the linearity of social hierarchy and their dynamics. We find evidence of the formation of a highly linear hierarchy among females with males positioned at the bottom of the hierarchy. This hierarchy is not affected by physical characteristics or age, suggesting that it is established only through intra-group interactions. Rank is not related with calves' weight gain either; however, subordinated females, with lower rank, exhibit higher rates of allosuckling. We found no evidence of hierarchical structure in calves suggesting that hierarchical relationship in guanacos could be established during the formation of the family group. Hence, our results suggest that hierarchical dynamics could be related more to social dynamics than to prior attributes. We finally discuss the importance of hierarchies established by dominance and their role in minimizing social costs of interactions.

Gastrointestinal and blood parasite determination in the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) under semi-captivity conditions.

The breeding of wild animals for commercial purposes is becoming more frequent nowadays. This situation has led to an increase in contact rates between wild and domestic animals, with subsequent reciprocal transmission of parasites. In this study, we characterized the gastrointestinal and blood parasites of a group of 15 semi-captive guanacos (Lama guanicoe). We characterized gastrointestinal parasites by analyzing fecal samples through the sedimentation-flotation technique and hemoparasites by using blood smears stained with Giemsa. We found several gastrointestinal parasites including Nematoda and protozoans. The most frequently found parasites were Nematodirus sp. and Eimeria sp. In contrast with previous studies, neither Cestoda nor Fasciola were found. The only hemoparasite detected was Mycoplasma haemolamae, a parasite already described in llamas and alpacas. We conclude that the most frequent gastrointestinal parasites of semi-captive guanacos were nematodes and protozoans. Also, the hemoparasite M. haemolamae seems to be prevalent among captive populations of South American camelids. Finally, captive guanacos share several parasites with the traditional livestock. Therefore, keeping captive or semi-captive guanacos without an adequate sanitary protocol might have adverse consequences to adjacent traditional cattle farming and/or for wild animals.

Opinión sobre el rol y perfil del educador para la primera infancia / O ponto de vista sobre o papel e o perfil do educador sobre a primeira infância / Opinion about the educator’s role and profile on early childhood

En este artículo presentamos los resultados consolidados de la investigación desarrollada entreChile y Colombia “Opinión que se tiene sobre el rol del profesional de la educación para la primera infanciaen dos países latinoamericanos”, una descripción levantada desde las opiniones aportadas por comunidadesdiversas (directivos docentes, docentes, apoderados de la educación, familias , estudiantes y profesionales de otrasáreas); estudio de carácter cualitativo explicativo en el cual participan 10 universidades, miembros de la Omep(Organización Mundial de Educación Preescolar). El estudio tuvo como propósito la caracterización del rol yperfil del educador para la primera infancia, el cual se realiza desde el enfoque de competencias y en el marco delas Políticas Públicas que a nivel de Latinoamérica se han gestado en las últimas décadas en torno a la atenciónintegral y educación de los niños y niñas.

Este artigo apresenta os resultados consolidados da pesquisa desenvolvida entre o Chile e aColômbia “O ponto de vista sobre o papel do profissional da educação na primeira infância nos países latinoamericanos”.Constitui uma descrição construída a partir das opiniões fornecidas por comunidades diversas(diretivos docentes, docentes, apoderados da educação, famílias, estudantes profissionais em outras áreas). É umestudo qualitativo explicativo onde participam 10 universidades, membros da Omep (Organização Mundialde Educação Pré-Escolar). Este estudo tive como propósito a caracterização do papel e do perfil do educadorpara a primeira infância, a partir da abordagem das competências no marco das Políticas Públicas as quais, aonível latino-americano, tem sido geradas nas últimas décadas com respeito à atenção integral e à educação dosmeninos e das meninas.

This article aims at presenting the consolidated results from the research study carried outbetween Chile and Colombia, “Opinion about the Educator’s Role on Early Childhood in two Latin AmericanCountries”. It is a description constructed on the basis of the opinions provided by different communities(directive teachers, teachers, education representatives, families, students and professionals of other fields); aqualitative explicative study with the participation of ten universities and OMEP’s (World Organization forEarly Childhood education) members. This study aimed at characterizing the role and profile of the educatingsubject for early childhood, which is achieved from the competence approach and from the perspective of PublicPolicies, which have been generated in Latin America with reference to boys and girls’ integral care and educationin the last decades.