Journal of Tropical Ecology (2008) 24:367–374. Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0266467408005129 Printed in the United Kingdom Home-range use by the Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama Enzo Aliaga–Rossel ∗1 , Roland W. Kays† and Jos ´ e M. V. Fragoso‡ ∗ State University of New York, Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA † New York State Museum, 3140 CEC, Albany, NY 12230, USA ‡ Environmental Studies Dept., University of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA (Accepted 2 May 2008) Abstract: This study investigates the movements and home range of the agouti (Dasyprocta punctata) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We captured and tracked 12 agoutis from January to December 2003. Home-range size (95% kernel) ranged from 1.56–2.45 ha (n = 6) for males and 1.34–1.97 ha (n = 5) for females. Agouti ranges overlapped and we estimated a density of approximately 100 agoutis km −2 . We compared agouti movement with the locations of refuges and food trees, and the results suggest that the agoutis are central-place foragers. Agoutis moved an average of 850 m d −1 covering approximately 35% of their range daily. These movement data help us understand the potential impacts of agoutis as seed dispersers, predicting that D. punctata will encounter and hoard fallen fruit within 10–200 m (i.e. radius of home range) of its source, and move seeds towards refuges such as ground holes and dense vegetation around recent tree falls. Key Words: agouti, Dasyprocta punctata, habitat use, home range, mammal density, predation risk, space use INTRODUCTION Dasyprocta punctata is one of the 11 species which comprise the genus Dasyprocta, common name agouti (Eisenberg 1989). Agoutis are medium-sized (3 kg) rodents that make up a high percentage of biomass in tropical forests, and are important not only as prey for a variety of predators including humans (Aliaga-Rossel 2004, Eisenberg & Thorington 1973, Terborgh et al. 2001), but also because of its role as a seed predator and disperser (Asquith et al. 1999, Hallwachs 1986, Henry 1999, Peres et al. 1997, Silvius 2002, Silvius & Fragoso 2003, Smythe 1978). Documenting the spatial scale at which frugivores move is important because it suggests how quickly fallen seeds may be found, and sets the distance that seeds could be dispersed. Knowledge of the movements of animals that feed at seasonally fluctuating fruiting patches is also of general interest because it allows for the quantification of the influence of food distribution on animal behaviour (Cowlishaw 1997, Ylonen et al. 2003). 1 Corresponding author. Email: enzo@hawaii.edu. Current address: 3190 Maile way- St. John 159, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA Only a few studies have described the movement patterns for any members of genus Dasyprocta, typically with small sample sizes (D. leporina: 3–9 ha, n = 9 animals, Jorge & Perez 2005, Silvius 1999, Silvius & Fragoso 2003; 3.9 ha for a single D. punctata, Rodriguez & Vaughan 1985). However, there has been no description of habitat preferences or the intensity at which Dasyprocta uses space, which is likely to affect the frequency at which it encounters fallen seeds. The importance of small and medium-sized terrestrial rodents as seed depredators and dispersers is widely recognized. For example, studies on species of spiny rat (Proechimys spp.) and acouchy (Myoprocta exilis) have shown that their movements generate complex seed shadows that might affect forest structure (Adler & Kestell 1998, Adler & Levins 1994, Forget 1991, Jansen 2003). We studied the spatial ecology of the Central American agouti (D. punctata Grey 1842) by radio-tracking nine animals and visually tracking three additional ear-tagged individuals on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We describe their home-range size and intensity of space use, and relate these factors to food distribution and predation risk.